Roommates
by MsWinehouse
Summary: OITNB Characters living together in an apartment complex-enjoy as they interact in everyday life outside of prison walls. I suck at writing summaries. Eventual Lorna/Nicky storylines...rated M for language & probably sexytime!
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everybody! My name is Lorna Morello. I am 26 years old, and am in need of a roommate. I am REALLY fun and a GREAT cook-also VERY clean and not annoying._

No, too peppy.

_Name: Lorna Morello._

_Age: 26_

_In need of a roommate. Willing to cook and clean and pay half rent, will provide groceries._

Way too boring.

_Looking for someone to live with, I am a female, 26 years old, hoping to pay no more than $800 in my share of rent. Would like the roommate to be a gal-but I'm open to anything, really!_

Lorna sighed as she stared at her drafted Craigslist ad. How do people come off so cool and casual online? She had set aside half an hour to write up an ad, it was now 1:00, two hours since she first opened her laptop. She was supposed to be on her way back from the gym by now.

"Ok, let's go with this," she squeaked to herself as she clicked _submit._

_Thanks! Your craigslist ad has been successfully posted._

And now, the waiting game.

/

Several blocks downtown of Lorna, Nicky Nichols was wrapped in several blankets comfortably laying in her bed, the lights off and the blinds shut. Enjoying a nice cigarette, she surfed the Internet while listening to her Led Zeppelin playlist, until two loud knocks on the door interrupted her. She didn't move at first-if it was a friend, they most likely had an extra key and would let themselves in.

The knock came again, this time much louder. "NICHOLS."

Nicky turned her face in disgust at the familiar gruff voice that came from the other side of her door. It was Mendez, her sleazy landlord. Of course, it was the first of the month, and as usual Nicky had to be hunted down to get the rent money. She sighed and rolled slowly out of bed, the cigarette still pressed between her lips.

She opened the door, to see Mendez bending down to meet her at an uncomfortable 3 inches from her face. "Yea, this is Nichols," she spit at him, exhaling smoke into his face.

"You are NOT allowed to be smoking in here. What have I told you?"

"I don't know Mendez, I don't fucking listen when you speak. What do you want from me-alright, I have a lot of shit to do." Her plan was to watch Netflix movies all day and smoke weed, and she hated when she had to rearrange plans to make other people happy.

"Do you know what day it is? It's rent day. Give me your money."

"I would, Mendez, I'd give you all the fuckin' money I have, except I got fired yesterday so I'm broke. So you're gonna have to give me an extension or something till I get shit figured out, alright? 'Preciate it."

She closed the door, and Mendez stuck his foot in just before it closed all the way. "I am so FUCKING SICK of you crackhead IDIOTS who can't make a simple _goddamn_ monthly payment to me, your landLORD. Don't you know wonder where the name came from? 'Landlord?' If you think about it-I am your GOD. WORSHIP ME."

"Well sorry to burst your bubble but I'm an atheist. Come back in a week, I'll have your fuckin' money." With that, she gave Mendez a hard shove and slammed the door in his face.

/

Lorna was in the kitchen cooking pasta when the alert from her computer told her she had an email. She raced over and checked her inbox, to which she happily found three craigslist replies. She opened the first one.

"hey hey lorna morello….you sound like a mighty fine time….you sound like a nice fun woman who'd i'd like to take care of. it just so happens i need a roommate as well, my old one had "problems" with my "living situation." bitches be CRAZY THESE DAYS! but not you lorna morello….we would get along just great. give me a call and we can arrange for a time for you to come see my crib! im sure you'll love it…take care. -suzanne"

"Hm. Interesting I guess…" Lorna went to the second email.

"hey sugababy it's me again, wanted to see if you came up with a decision yet! hope to hear from you soon…suzanne."

Puzzled, Lorna looked at the time. It was 1:37, Suzanne's first email only came 20 minutes after Lorna had posted her ad, and the second email came 2 minutes after that. Well, maybe she needs help paying the rent and needs a roommate as soon as possible. And she definitely sounded friendly.

Lorna picked up her cell phone and dialed the number, before remembering there was a third email. Maybe it was another, slightly saner, candidate.

"hey chickadee just wanted to share one of my favorite quotes with you…Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel. whatcha think about that huh? just incase you was interested in having a WELL READ ROOMMATE… HIT ME UP!"

Well, she was definitely persistent. That was something Lorna needed to work on anyway. She hadn't been doing so well in the job market, and she had a feeling it was because of her interview skills. This Suzanne girl seemed a bit…_extra,_ but maybe it was the exact opposing personality that Lorna needed to step her game up a bit. She looked down at her phone, which had Suzanne's number already dialed, and clicked send.

/

Nicky was sitting on the steps outside of the apartment complex, puffing on another cigarette that was badly needed after her encounter with Mendez. Such a fucking shitstain, he really pissed her off. She was racking her brain with ideas to make quick money-her mother had recently cut her off, and she was forced to get a job for herself, working as a receptionist at a dentist's office. Unfortunately, working wasn't really Nicky's thing, and it didn't last long. However, she needed some sort of income to not only pay this month's rent, but to keep up with her excessive drugs and alcohol budget, that had been prioritized over all other payments. She was so mentally disassociated, she didn't even notice when a tall, skinny dark-haired woman sat next to her. She didn't even snap out of it until the woman waved her hand in front of her face, singing her name in her ear.

"What the fuck, when'd you get there?" Nicky asked. It was Alex, the girl that lived above Nicky.

"I've been sitting here screaming your name for like 30 seconds. What's wrong with you?" she let out a deep chuckle, taking her glasses off and putting them on the top of her head. "Am I interrupting something? I can tell you're in your own little world."

Nicky sucked her teeth and flicked her cigarette, still staring out into the distance. "Na, just trying to figure out how I'm gonna pay rent this month. Mendez almost knocked my fuckin' door down this morning. So I gotta be on the down low till I get some cash. So you didn't see me out here, ya heard?"

Alex chuckled again. "My lips are sealed, but how are you having trouble with money? Did you spend your paycheck already?"

"Well I spent it, yeah, and I'm also not gonna get anymore, cuz…you know, I was fired."

"What?! Oh God, what did you do? Do I even wanna know?"

"It wasn't anything that bad," she said, a mischievous grin forming on the corner of her mouth as she turned to look at her friend. "It was just the little things that added up. You know, I was always late, I was always giving out wrong information, I wasn't very good with 'customer service.' It's bullshit."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Yeah. Oh and yesterday I got caught trying to steal morphine."

"WHAT?!" The casual, blunt statement that came from her friend caused Alex to bend over in hysterics. "Nicky you were caught trying to steal morphine?"

"Yes ma'am," she replied, her lips still pressed into a smirk.

"Now _that's_ a story for the grandkids. C'mon Nicky if you really wanted morphine you could've talked to your friend Alex, I could hook you up with anything you want."

"Eh," Nicky shrugged, taking a last drag of her cigarette before throwing it on the street. "Well what's done is done. I hated that stupid job anyway. I hate jobs in general. That's not for me."

"Well how much do you need? I mean I could spot you this month and you can pay me back when you get the money. No interest included," she added with a smile.

"Don't bother, I don't take money from people I like. I'll find a way. Prostitution's always an option, I hear that's recession proof." She stood up and opened the door for her friend.

"Well at least you have a plan. What you need is a roommate though. You have that second room that just sits there, why don't you clean it up and start looking for someone to pay the rent? Whoever moves in can pay for this month, and then you pay the next month, and then after that you just split it. It'll give you a couple of weeks to find something, you know?"

Nicky shrugged, considering this option. "Well. We'll just have to see, won't we."

The two girls stood in front of the elevator, and as it opened, Suzanne came out, her cell phone pressed tightly to her ear. Her eyes, which were already wild and full of insanity, were practically bulging out of her eye sockets. She was clearly listening to someone speak on the phone, and her other hand was gesturing as if she was having the conversation in person. "That sounds PERFECT. Tomorrow it is then, I'll be up at 11. I'll make sure to clean up all nice and pretty for you."

Alex watched her go, amused at the little tidbit she was able to hear. "I guess Crazy Eyes has a new girl." They got into the elevator.

"At least someone's getting lucky," Nicky dryly responded as the elevator doors closed before them.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Wednesday morning, and Lorna woke up early to get a fresh start on her day. With a pot of her favorite coffee ready and a plate full of eggs and bacon, she made the necessary steps to ensure that it was going to be a great day. After pulling on a tight fitting black maxi dress with red heels to match her red lipstick, she looked in the mirror and tried to ignore the pulsing anxiety in her stomach. As a young girl, Lorna was always timid and easily intimidated, but over the years she had coached herself to at least put on a strong exterior to make herself look tougher to people. As nice as Suzanne had been on the phone, she was still a little anxious, yet a little excited, to meet her potential new roommate. There was something in the tone of the woman's voice on the phone that almost sounded like she was trying to be…seductive? Was that the right word? She kept calling her _baby,_ and _honey,_ and made little comments like "_Once you get in my apartment you ain't never gonna wanna leave me._"

Before she was ready to go, she made a phone call. It rang twice, then went straight to voicemail. She rolled her eyes and waited patiently for the beep. _At the tone, please record your message. When you're finished, either hang up, or press pound for more options._ "Hi, it's me again," her soft, Brooklyn-based voice chirped. "Can you call me back? I'm checkin' out that new place today, I figured you'd wana hear 'bout it. Call me."

/

"Nicky! Nicky open the door I lost your key!"

Nicky woke up to the familiar voice of Trisha, the closest thing she had to a little sister. Meaning, that although she had love for the kid, sometimes she also wanted to smack her in the head. Kicking her blankets off of her, she got up and twisted the doorknob enough so that Trisha could open it herself, then climbed back into bed.

"Hey, thanks a lot. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's in the room somewhere, but it's been such a mess, I've lost a lot of shit in there. I'll find it when I clean, I'm sure." She followed Nicky into her bedroom and got in the bed with her. "I need to talk to you real quick."

"Not now," Nicky replied, her voice deeper than usual due to the fact that she just woke up. Her eyes were still closed, and she pulled her eye mask down to cover her face.

"What's this?" Trisha asked, pulling the eye mask off her and inspecting it. "You have one of these? You don't seem like the type to wear one of these."

Annoyed, Nicky sat up and grabbed it back from her. "Yeah, I spend my waking hours rolling my eyes so much so I need a reminder to keep my eyes shut when I sleep. What do you want anyway- can you come back at like midnight when I'm fully awake?"

"I'm having problems with my girl," Trisha replied, ignoring Nicky's question. Nicky looked at her, and saw her eyes were filled with worry and concern. Nicky's downfall was that although she was a tough girl, she had a big heart that she opened to certain people she loved, and unfortunately, she was very loyal and loving to Trisha.

She sighed and propped up on her elbows, blowing a messy curl out of her face. "Go on."

"She wants to have a threesome."

Nicky stared at her, waiting for the rest of the story. When she realized that was the bulk of her problems, she furrowed her eyebrows. "That's _it? That's_ what you're worrying yourself over? That's what you came into my apartment at like 5 in the morning for?"

"Nicky it's almost 11:00."

"Look, Trish, go with the threesome, aright? Make your girl happy. Leave me alone."

"But she wants to have a threesome with... a _guy._"

Nicky paused. That was definitely a different story. She looked at Trisha, Trisha looked back.

"Well, that's-I don't know, I can't help you there. If you don't wanna do it, don't. She's not gonna force you."

"I wanna make her happy Nicky, I love her. And this is something that she really wants. But I don't get it. If she loves me, shouldn't she be happy with just me? Why do we need a guy?"

"Look kid, I don't understand girls that like dick. That's never been my thing." She paused, momentarily looking back on her life. "Well for like, a summer, it was my thing. But this isn't that difficult. You don't wanna do it, right?"

Trisha shook her head.

"Then don't do it. Mercy will get over it. Buy her a nice big strap-on, that'll shut her up. Anytime she brings it up again just stick it right in her mouth."

"What if she cheats on me with a guy? Or like, breaks up with me?"

"Then she's a fuckin' piece of shit and you'll find someone better. Okay?"

Trisha nodded silently, although it was obvious to Nicky that she was still upset. "Look, you know that when you come to me, you're gonna get my honest opinion, in the shortest sentences possible. You wanna talk to someone else about it? Go hit up Alex. Piper fucked a bunch of dudes, she'll be able to relate."

"That's a good idea, thanks Nicky!"

"You're welcome."

"So there's a new chick here, I just saw her walk in with _Crazy Eyes._ And she's really pretty, like way too pretty for Crazy Eyes, she's really small and sexy in like an 1940's type of way-"

"Okay, that's enough," Nicky interrupted. "Come back later when I have the energy to fully ignore you."

Trisha grinned, climbing out of her bed. "You got it Nicky. Thanks-I appreciate you listening. I'm gonna come back later."

"Lookin' forward to it."

/

"You must be Lorna Morello."

Lorna turned around to the unfamiliar voice who called her name, and saw a hefty black girl with the strangest hairstyle, grinning at her the way an alligator probably grins before attacking its victim. She was standing in the lobby of the apartment complex, unsure if she was even at the right address, and hadn't even seen the girl behind her.

"I'm Suzanne."

"Oh…hi! Yeah, that's me, I'm-I'm Lorna." She smiled and held out her hand, which Suzanne grabbed and placed a kiss on.

"I'm real excited for you to be here. We're gonna have a great time. Follow me."

Lorna followed her to the elevators, and as they waited, a young looking blonde girl with a trashy neck tattoo walked past them and grinned, obviously enjoying something that had gone over Lorna's head. She nodded towards Suzanne and made eye contact with Lorna, then took the stairs and left the two alone again.

/

_This was a mistake._

That was the only thought that ran through Lorna's mind as she stepped into the elevator with Suzanne. "Uh, h-how far up is your floor?" she asked, her voice even higher than usual.

"Oh, I'm on the 10th floor," Suzanne replied, looking her up and down with no hints of subtleness.

Lorna nodded, and looked up at the floor numbers, which took several seconds to change. "It's… it's a really slow elevator." She laughed nervously.

"You wanna do something to make the time go by quicker?"

Lorna gulped, her eyes widening as Suzanne stepped closer. Luckily, the elevator stopped on floor 7, where a stunning, tall black woman with perfectly done hair and make up stepped in. She was a very beautiful woman, but there was something a little off about her.

"Oh, hey Sophia," Suzanne acknowledged the woman, stepping back from Lorna and bringing her fingers to her mouth, a habit that Lorna had noticed her do several times since she met her.

"Hi there," Sophia replied. Her voice was low, but sexy and fun. She turned and looked down at Lorna, who she towered over. "I don't believe I know you. I'm Sophia."

"Oh, hi," Lorna shook her hand. "I'm Lorna. Lorna Morello. I, um, I need a roommate, so Suzanne here is showing me her place."

Suzanne put her arm around Lorna and brought her into an embrace. "Baby over here is gonna be moving in _reeeeal_ soon."

"Oh, well I don't know, I mean I still have other places to s-"

"You're moving in with _Suzanne?"_ Sophia asked, her perfectly waxed eyebrow raised in either amusement, or confusion.

"Well… nothing's set yet, I'm just looking."

Immediately, Sophia let out a loud laugh, unable to suppress how funny she thought it was. The poor girl, she thought. But, there was nothing she could do to help. Lorna was Crazy Eyes' victim now. She knew that preying look in her eyes all too well.

"Well good luck with that baby. Hope to see you real soon."

At the ninth floor, Sophia got off. Once the doors opened, the elevator was filled with the loud voices of girls screaming and laughing. Before the doors closed, she heard a voice scream, "Ay tranny mami-tell me how Taystee over here tryna tell me how she be a runway model back in the day."

Another voice yelled back, "Giirl don't even trip. That fat ass ain't runnin' nowhere."

"One more floor," Suzanne grinned. "Excited?"

Lorna immediately regretted coming in that day. She regretted putting out an ad. She regretted the invention of craigslist. She regretted buying a laptop, and even being born, because all of these things put together had led to her being trapped in a slow moving elevator with creepy Suzanne who couldn't even pretend to be sneaky about checking her out.

"Yeah…Real excited."

/

Across the street from the apartment building, Red was at her restaurant, cleaning the tabletops and making a fresh pot of coffee for the normal afternoon crowd. Right now, it was pretty empty. As she cleaned, the bells rang, indicating someone had just walked in. She turned around to see Jones, the yoga instructor that lived down the hall from her, and gave free classes in the community room. Her and Red had gotten pretty close over the years; she suffered from massive back problems and Jones was always helpful in providing different back stretches and warm-ups that alleviated the pain.

"Good morning, my dear friend." Red always spoke firmly, but with warm compassion.

"Hi Red," she smiled at her, as she sat in the stool at the bar. "How's your back today?" Red always enjoyed the way Jones spoke compared to every other New Yorker. It was slow and steady, like the difference between a still lake and a tidal wave. Red's English had gotten much better throughout the years, but it was always helpful to speak to someone who took their time enunciating their words.

"The pain in my upper back is almost gone, it's a miracle. However the lower back, there is still much pain, but I have been doing those exercises you taught me."

"Well I'm glad to hear you're doing better. What are your plans for the day?"

"Work, and some more work," she replied. "I'm trying to hire some new workers. I hired some college kids to work part time-big mistake. They are all idiots. They just want their parties, they want their TV and movie times, and they want big paychecks, but they do not want to work for it. They are always late, always asking to take off work fifteen minutes before their shifts."

"That's a shame, I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you post an ad online? Or are you on the Facebook? You could say to your friends that you need workers. And they'll spread the word."

Red almost laughed at Jones' idea. She poured her a coffee, and put it in front of her. "I don't have time for the Internet. I prefer a good book."

Jones smiled at her. "Well I'm with you on that, sister, but the Internet is a great way to get workers. Janae tried to get me on Facebook… I might be there now actually, I can ask her to help me spread the word."

Rod nodded, her thin lips pressed together. She knew about Janae and Jones' unexpected friendship. They were opposite in age, upbringings, and just about everything else, but for some reason they got along extremely well. "Do you think, maybe Janae would be interested in a job?"

"Well I'll definitely ask her. You know, she's on a weird path right now, she's kind of hanging with some shady people, that influence her to do stuff she wouldn't really do...I'd really like for her to be in the company of someone older, and wiser, like yourself."

"Please let me know. I'm tired. And I can't keep running this shop by myself. I would ask my Nicky to help out, but she finally got an actual job. I'm so proud of her. She shows me that we can all turn our lives around."

/

"Here it is." Suzanne proudly announced as she opened the door to her apartment. It had an odd, musty smell that Lorna both tried to decipher and ignore at the same time.

"Do you have a cat or something?" Lorna asked, looking around for a litter box.

"Nope. Just me and Bambi."

"Bambi?"

"My hamster. You wanna meet her? She looooves pretty girls, just like her mama."

Lorna shifted uncomfortably and looked around the room as Suzanne went to fetch her hamster. It didn't really look "clean," but more like Suzanne had kicked the mess under the couch and into the closet twenty minutes before she arrived. She tried to focus on the actual layout of the apartment, instead of the clutter that took center stage.

Truthfully, it was a nice set up. Suddenly, Suzanne and her possessions disappeared and Lorna found herself remodeling the apartment to her liking. The living room was big and spacious, and the kitchen had that little window where she could cook dinner and wave to her guests in the living room. Christopher would come home from work and give her a kiss. She'd give him a beer and he'd settle on the couch and tell her about his day, while she cooked up a delicious meal for him. Probably a nice turkey, with fancy potatoes and broccoli. In reality, Lorna's culinary skills didn't go past eggs and burnt bacon, but in her fantasy she was a sexy Rachael Ray.

"Meet Bambi!" Suzanne's shrill voice snapped Lorna out of her thoughts, and she was brought back to the messy apartment with the weird stalker who was now holding a fat hamster in her hands.

"Oh... very nice to meet you Bambi," she forced a smile.

"It's very nice to meet you too," Suzanne disguised her voice pretending to be the hamster. Lorna tried not to roll her eyes. "I think you should hold me, and give me a kiss!"

"That's okay, I really shouldn't," Lorna realized she was actually talking to Bambi, and then quickly looked up at Suzanne, who was the one making the voices.

"Well than maybe you should give my mama a kiss! She _loooooves_ kisses!"

"Why don't you show me the bedrooms?" Lorna quickly interrupted. "I'd like to see what the sleeping arrangements would be."

"Sure!" Suzanne replied, putting Bambi back in its cage. "I mean, the sleeping arrangements can always change, if you know what I mean. There's two bedrooms, I'm in the master bedroom. And this would be yours. Unless, you know, you wanted to merge into one and keep this one for house guests."

Lorna peered into the second room. It was okay, nicer than she expected, actually. As of now it looked like it was kept for storage, but if Lorna was actually desperate enough to move in, she could definitely make it work.

"So what's going on with your situation…you living on your own now?"

Lorna looked in the closet. "Yeah, I am. But my lease is up already, my landlord's been really cool with giving me an extension until I find a place. Honestly, living on my own and paying rent myself is hard. I wanted to move in somewhere with my boyfriend, Christopher, but he lost his job recently and he's been staying at his mom's. So I'm gonna try the roommate thing, until we get back on our feet, you know."

Lorna turned to look at Suzanne, who had fallen silent and stared daggers once she mentioned her boyfriend. "You have a boyfriend?"

Immediately, Lorna felt the color of her skin fade. "Uh…yeah, yeah his name's Christopher."

Suzanne was silent for a few more seconds, before turning and walking out of the room. "This over here's the kitchen. I'm a pretty mean chef, I could cook you anything your little heart desired. The best way to a woman is through her stomach, you know. Yeah, I know all the tricks."

/

Nicky had finally gotten out of bed, and showered and dressed herself to prepare for her day. Her hair had dried to her natural state-big, curly, and somehow organized and messy at the same time. She wore army green cargo pants and a black wifebeater, with brown combat boots. She walked with her usual "tough-guy" swagger to the corner store where she bought a pack of cigarettes and an Olde English. Just a little something to get her through the day before she really started.

Before going back to her room, she stopped at Red's restaurant to see how she was doing. It was empty, which was surprising for lunchtime, even if it was during the week. The bells rang to indicate she was there, and she hopped on the stool next to Jones.

"Wassup Yoga," she acknowledged the woman next to her, who gave her a warm smile. "Hey Ma where all the customers at?"

"There's one right here. What are you having, my Nicky."

"Well I wasn't gonna give you business, I was just sayin' hello. And if I got something, I would ask for it to be on the house."

Red shook her head at the girl, and gave her a plate of Salami and Russian bread and butter. Nicky took one look at it and gagged. "Ugh, so Russian. Why can't you heat up a Big Mac back there or something, eh?"

"Because this is _not_ a McDonald's, and you are getting this for free." She took the plate away. "I'll give this to someone else then."

"Fine. I got my breakfast right here." Nicky pulled the 40 out of her bag and started sipping.

"Nicky, I thought you weren't going to drink during the week anymore. Did you work today?"

Nicky paused, but never broke eye contact with the Russian. Nicky was good at lying, like most addicts are, but there was something about Red that allowed her to know when Nicky was lying. She really was the mother she never had. "No," she replied. It wasn't really a lie, after all. "I didn't work today."

"How is that going?" Jones asked.

_Fuckin' Jones,_ she thought to herself. "It's good. Good shit, I'm learning a lot. Hey ma', I'm gonna take that salami for the road actually." She stood up and grabbed a piece off the plate. "I'll see you guys later, ok?"

With that, she headed out, as Red watched her with her narrow eyes the entire time.

/

"Well, I think I've seen all I need to see," Lorna said, as she walked towards the door. "Thank you for letting me into your house, and…you know for being nice, and introducing me to Bambi…"

"I'll walk you out. When do you think you're gonna make your decision?"

Lorna sighed. She knew she didn't have much time to make any other decision. After all, packing her stuff and moving it downtown was already going to take a few days, and she didn't have that much time to go elsewhere and seek other roommates before that. With a heavy heart, she replied, "I'll probably let you know by tonight."

Suzanne grinned. "I'm real excited." The elevator doors opened, and revealed Piper standing by herself, looking up from her phone to see the two.

"Oh, hi," she said to Suzanne.

"Mmmm-hm." Suzanne put her arm around Lorna and went in with her. "That's my old roommate, the one I was telling you about." The elevator doors closed.

"I'm right here actually, I can hear you-" Piper said, not rudely.

"It just didn't 'work out,' she said. PSH. Well I got a new girl now, I like brunettes what can I say?" Suzanne leaned towards Piper and took a deep inhale. "I still do love the way you smell though."

Piper sighed and remained silent, and Lorna tried to squirm out of Suzanne's icy grip. The elevator got to the lobby, and Piper walked out, with Lorna and Suzanne following.

Suzanne grabbed Lorna's hand and stopped her, and before Lorna looked at her, she saw Piper walking down the steps outside, and stopped to talk to someone who was sitting with her back turned to her. Piper said something and the woman turned around to look at her and Suzanne.

"Look Lorna, whatever happens, it was great meeting you, and hopefully, maybe we can be friends in the future, if nothing else works out. I'm a real fun time, I can promise you that, you'll never meet nobody like me. I can show you a different side of this city that no person could ever even try to do. They just ain't got it like me."

Lorna smiled. She saw Suzanne's true colors. She was strange, possessive, and sexually creepy, but her intentions were good. "I'd like that Suzanne. It was great meeting you too. I'll give you a call tonight no matter what, okay?"

Lorna gave Suzanne a quick hug, and pulled away before she could make it anything else. She opened the door to exit, still feeling Suzanne's eyes on her, and smiled when she saw the girl from the elevator, sitting next to another woman. After her eyes bounced from the blonde girl to the second one, she realized she couldn't look away. Her eyes were big like a child, decorated with long curly lashes, and her mouth was twisted to the side in the sexiest smirk she'd ever seen. She tried to look away when she realized how long she'd been staring, but for some reason she couldn't.

"Hey kid, do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"

Lorna blinked, snapping herself out of her trance. The mysterious woman had acknowledged her and she had an insanely sexy voice. "W-wha-"

"With Crazy Eyes." She was clearly talking about Suzanne. "I hear you're trying to be her new roomie."

The blonde woman extended her hand. "I'm Piper by the way. I was Suzanne's old roommate."

Lorna shook her hand. "Oh, yeah, was everything okay? She didn't really tell me anything, she just told me, you guys didn't work out? Something with the living situation?"

"Yeah, she pissed all over Piper's shit."

Lorna's eyes widened at the blunt nature of the second woman, whose name she still hadn't learned. "She-what? Like when she was drunk or something?"

Piper laughed, not because it was a made up lie, Lorna could tell, but because she had actually lived through it with that story to tell. "No, she was perfectly sober. I woke up in my bedroom and she just peed all over the floor."

Lorna looked at Nicky, who was still smirking and nodding her head. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then offered her pack to Lorna.

"No thank you, I don't smoke-I'm sorry, did she have an actual reason? Like was she sleep walking or something?"

"You know how cats pee on shit to mark their territories?" Nicky asked. "Crazy Eyes is a cat. Piper was her territory. And it seems like you're her newest victim."

Piper giggled, and Nicky let out a vicious, yet somewhat sexy laugh, that was cut off by a coughing fit. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you, it's just really fuckin' funny. But I mean, can you blame her? She likes pretty little girls. Why wouldn't she pick someone like you?" With her last statement, she winked at her. Lorna felt a hot sensation in her lower stomach.

She stood up and held out her hand. "I'm Nicky Nicholas. I live on the third floor."

"Nice to meet you," Lorna smiled and shook her hand, trying to ignore the heat between her legs as she made contact with her.

"So the deed is done? You're definitely moving in?"

Lorna shifted uncomfortably, itching the back of her head. "I…well now I don't know. She's the only one that responded to my craigslist ad, I have to be out of my apartment sometime this week…I don't know what to do."

Nicky stared her down. She was awfully good at maintaining intense eye contact, Lorna thought. She couldn't get over how beautiful her eyes were. She felt like they were swallowing her whole. "How much are you trying to pay, per month?"

"I don't know… like $700? $800 maybe? That's all I can afford for now."

Nicky smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "You know I really need a roommate too. I don't mean to swoop down and steal Crazy Eyes'…'property,' but I gotta make moves quick. I was laid off this week-"

Piper, who had heard the gossip from Alex, looked down and stifled a laugh. Nicky ignored her, and continued. "So if I were to get a roommate this month, they'd be paying $650. Then next month, _I'd_ pay $650. And we'd go from there."

Lorna looked back at Nicky. There was nothing she wanted more. She hadn't even seen her apartment, she knew nothing about this girl, but she wanted to take the chance. There was something about this Nicky that Lorna wanted more of. She pulled out a piece of paper from her bag and wrote her number down. "Here. Why don't you call me tonight, and we can discuss."

Nicky smiled deliciously at her, and Lorna bit her bottom lip and tried to play it cool. She was intimidated by Nicky, but in a good way.

"I'll definitely hit you up." Nicky looked her up and down, then winked at her.

Lorna blushed, and walked towards the subway station, replaying her conversation with Nicky in her head over and over again.

Nicky watched her leave, and Piper watched her, laughing to herself. "I know that look all too well," she said, resting her chin on her fist. "You like Lorna."

"You bet your flat ass I do," she replied. "I wanna fuck all of that."


	3. Chapter 3

It was 9 PM, and Red was closing up shop. Another unsuccessful business day to add to the collection. She pulled the metal gate down, and strained when she had to bend down to lock it up. When she managed to stand back up, there were three strangers standing in front of her, who she had only seen a few times wandering around the apartment complex where she lived. She believed they lived on the fifth floor.

The first woman with shorter hair spoke. "You're Red, right?"

"Can I help you with something?"

"We hear you need help in your restaurant. Me and my girls need jobs. Was wondering if we could help each other out."

Red studied the women. The one speaking was named Mendoza, she was almost positive. She remembered seeing her work at a spanish grocery store on the corner, called "Mendoza's." She was at a loss for the other two. But, Spanish women…would that be a right business move? Her restaurant was strictly Russian, how could she train Spanish women to cook the way her mother and her mother's mother had trained her all these years? It was the same as if Red tried to cook Spanish food, you simply can't cook food that isn't from your home country.

"Look, I got plenty of years in the cooking industry," Mendoza said, noticing that Red wasn't easily convinced. "I could be your assistant chef. Aleida here can serve, and Maritza can do anything else you need. She'll be part time."

Red considered this. "You think you're up to the task? To cook…traditional Russian food?"

The three women looked at each other. The second older woman, Aleida spoke up. "Well here's the thing. Sure, we could learn how to make your food. But what if you rebranded a little bit? Made your restaurant serve different types of food, not just Russian. You'd probably get a lot more customers, Red."

"I mean look at the neighborhood you live in," the younger girl, Maritza, spoke. "This isn't a popular Russian neighborhood. We know how to feed this neighborhood, and you know how to run a business. We could all help each other."

/

Finally back home, Lorna had started to pack her belongings into boxes. No matter what ended up happening, it didn't hurt to get an early start. It was around 9:30, and she had only gotten about half her apartment into boxes. She collapsed on the couch and put her feet up on the table, wondering if she could make it to the liquor store if she left now.

She went through the messages on her phone, looking at the thread between her and Christopher. She noticed how most of her messages went unanswered.

_Hello, can you answer me please? u never returned my call. is your phone broken? call me._

Suddenly her phone rang, and an unknown number popped up when she looked at it. She felt butterflies in her stomach and picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Lorna," a raspy, sexy female voice on the other line answered. "It's Nicky."

Lorna smiled. "Nicky Nichols?" she squeaked, trying to hide her enthusiasm.

"No, Nicki Minaj. _Yes,_ it's Nichols. How you doin' kid?"

"I'm good, I'm good! Yeah, just… you know, hangin' out, packing up some of my stuff."

"Oh yeah, prepping to live with your girlfriend?"

Lorna laughed, realizing that she was now pacing around the living room. "Well, obviously I don't think that's gonna work out."

"So move in with me then. We'll have lots of fun."

"I don't even know you," she responded, although Lorna was practically ready to call the moving truck right then and there.

"So come get to know me. I'm having some people over tonight, stop by. Get a feel of the place, y'know."

"That sounds fun, actually. Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

"Perfect! Well you were just here so you don't need directions. I'm in 3A. The door will be open, just let yourself in."

"Great. I'll see ya soon Nicky. Thanks for inviting me."

/

Claudette sat in the chair in her living room, reading a book with a hot cup of tea like she spent most of her nights. And, like the usual nights living in a room directly under a party animal, she had her broom nearby, incase she had to passive aggressively tell the children upstairs to be quiet and be respectful of people trying to have a quiet night. This night, like all nights, was no exception.

There was a knock on her door, an unfamiliar sound, as she lived alone and had very few friends. Every once in a while she would go across the street to have coffee with Red, but they rarely saw each other inside the building, and she wasn't even sure if Red knew where she lived.

She put on her slippers and opened the door, to see Taystee Jefferson standing outside. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes, is there a problem?"

"Just wanted your advice on something," Taystee mumbled as she walked in and sat on the couch.

Claudette sighed. "It's very late, you know. I have an appointment in the morning, and I must not oversleep. Whatever it is, I hope it's very quick."

"I wanna go to school, Miss Claudette, a real school. You know I got that job working at the library, well reading all them books has been making me want to get a real job. I see myself as like, a lawyer or some shit. Representing vulnerable people who ain't never had a chance. I wish I had someone like that growing up, you know? Maybe I woulda grown up without all these arrests, and violations, all this dumb shit."

"So what are you coming to me for?"

"School means _money,_ Miss Claudette. I ain't got none of that. I ain't got no family to help me out, all my girls here is broke too. I was wondering if I could clean your place or something, and you pay me to be your maid. I need to start somewhere."

"Look around you, Taystee. Do you see a mess? I am not a person that needs a maid." Taystee sighed. "Your idea is right, as is your passion. But you need to think things through. There are many messy young girls in this building, go door to door, sell yourself Taystee. There are also scholarships to help girls like you, research."

Taystee nodded. "Yeah, I guess you right. Well what you doin' tonight? There's a party goin' on upstairs, supposed to be a banger."

"I was never interested in parties. That room is right above mine, and I need to sleep. If you hear me banging on the roof, I hope you can convince everybody to go to bed."

"I don't know about that Miss Claudette, white people be crazy when they drink they tequila. But I'll try my best." She stood up and headed towards the door. "Thanks for talkin' to me."

"You're a smart girl, Taystee. Not foolish like many of the other ones I see running up and down the streets."

"Thanks. Have a good night."

/

Sister Ingalls clutched her bible to her as she walked home from her prayer meeting. As she got closer to her building, she saw her friend Sophia, standing outside smoking a cigarette with Poussey. Sophia waved to her friend.

"Good evening Sophia, how are you? Hello Poussey."

"Wassup sista," was Poussey's response.

"Hello sister. Prayer meeting?" she asked, referring to the Bible in her hand.

"Oh yes, we finished early tonight. Good thing too, I'm exhausted. It's been a long week."

"I feel you on that one," Poussey nodded. "There's gonna be a party on your floor tonight though, so good luck gettin' some sleep. It's a Nicky party, shit's gonna be wild."

Sister Ingalls sighed. "Well, I don't have to be up early. I suppose I could put up with it. It's not the music that bothers me, just the smell of smoke, and drink, and other questionable substances."

"Well why don't you stop by?" Sophia asked. "I'm only going for a little bit. My wife and son are both sick so getting out of the room would be good for me."

"Oh, I don't know if that's really my scene," Sister Ingalls replied, with a wave of her hand.

"Oh c'mon. We'll leave before it gets too crazy. They gonna be keeping you up anyway, if you can't beat me, join 'em."

Sister Ingalls shook her head. "That's not a very good motto in life, Sophia. But, fine. I suppose a glass of wine might help in putting me to bed."

/

It was 10:30, and Nicky sat on her dining room table, staring at her usually empty living room which was now packed with about 20 people, and the number was only growing. She was sipping on a bottle of cheap cognac, already feeling the buzz but trying not to get too drunk before Lorna came.

"How did this many people end up here?" Alex asked, amused, as she made her way over to Nicky.

"I was in the paper last month, when a girl got drunk and fell out the window." She shrugged, and took another sip. "Any publicity is good publicity."

"Cheers to that," Alex laughed as she clinked her beer against Nicky's cognac. Piper made her way over to the two, settling between Alex's legs and getting a kiss on the cheek from her.

"So when's your new girlfriend coming?" Piper inquired, raising her eyebrows with a teasing grin.

"Girlfriend?" Alex asked, whipping her head to look at Nicky, who rolled her eyes and took another gulp. "I haven't heard about this new girlfriend Nicky, do tell."

"This chick put up an ad on craigslist about how she needed a roommate, and Crazy Eyes was the only one to reply." Alex and Piper burst out laughing at this, and Nicky threw her head back in laughter as well, now that she was tipsy the story was even funnier.

"So she's good looking?" Alex asked.

"Yo, I'd chop my foot off to eat her pussy once. She's coming tonight, see for yourself."

Throughout the room, there was a game of beer pong between Daya and her mother, and Flaca and Maritza. Mendoza watched and kept score, a Colt 45 pressed tightly in her hand. Sister Ingalls and Sophia sat on the couch, Ingalls still sober, and Sophia a little drunk. Taystee and Poussey were sitting at the table rolling a blunt, and Pennsatucky was with her usual crew packing a crack pipe on the other side of the table. Nicky had no idea how or why they were there, but didn't have the energy to care. In the dark hallway, Trisha and Mercy was kissing and fondling each other. Big Boo was on the floor in the corner with her dog, although Nicky was pretty sure dogs weren't allowed in the building in general. Janae held two red cups in her hand, and walked over to offer one to Jones, who politely rejected.

"What's that? I'll take it," Big Boo spoke up, taking the cup from her.

"Not sure what the exact ingredients are," Janae responded. "It's some sort of jungle juice, it's Nicky's recipe."

Boo sniffed it, then took a sip, quickly grimacing when she swallowed. "Ooh! Damn, that's strong. What the hell is in this?"

Back on the table, Nicky realized the punch was running low. "Here," she handed her bottle to Alex and quickly made another batch. Together, she mixed big doses of tequila, beer, koolaid mix, and cough syrup. She mixed it together and threw the spoon on the table, placing extra cups next to it and grabbed her bottle from Alex. "Punch is done," she yelled to the crowd.

The door opened, and Nicky, Alex, and Piper all turned to see who it was. There stood Lorna, wearing a black high waisted skirt and a white midriff top, exposing a few inches of her white, porcelain skin. She looked very fuckable. Nicky looked at Alex, nodding her head in her direction to let her know that was her girl.

Alex raised her eyebrows, giving her approval. "Shall we leave you to start your work?" Alex and Piper stood up to leave, and Lorna waved to Nicky. She made her way towards her, and following her was an unfamiliar man, built and in his late 20's, holding a 12-pack of beer.

Nicky stared at him with ice in her eyes, as Lorna ran over and hugged her. Her cold, vacant look never left the stranger, even as Lorna squeezed her tightly.

"Hey kid, glad to see you."

"Glad to see you too! Nicky, I want you to meet someone. This is Christopher, my boyfriend. Christopher, this is Nicky. We're hopefully, most likely gonna be roommies."

Alex and Piper looked at each other. The party seemed to stop and Nicky could've sworn the music cut off, although no one noticed the encounter except for the two girls.

Christopher held out his hand, giving her a sleazy once-over. "Hey, glad to meet you. Nice to meet the girl that's gonna be spending all this time with my woman."

Piper looked at Alex, and they both tried to suppress a smile. Christopher had no idea what he was getting himself into.


	4. Chapter 4

Around midnight, everyone was starting to suffer from tunnel vision and slurred words, thanks to Nicky the bartender, who was putting more and more alcohol and cough syrup into the punchbowl as the night went on.

As Nicky mixed the drink, Trisha came over and put her arm around her. "Whatcha doin," she slurred.

"Anger drinking," Nicky replied, filling her cup up with juice. She took a long gulp of her cognac, finishing off the bottle, and chased it with the mixed drink. Her eyes were drooping lower, and when she concentrated on something she had to close one of her eyes.

Lorna skipped over to Nicky and Trisha. "Hey roomie," she grinned at Nicky. "I love the place so far. You wanna give me a tour?"

"Sure, where's boyfriend? I gotta get to know him too, since he's basically gonna be living with us too."

"Who, Christopher? No, you probably won't see him that much. He's always busy, today's the first time I seen him in like, three weeks."

"Ayo, Christopher," Nicky yelled, beckoning him over. "C'mere, it's family bonding time."

"This is your boyfriend?" Trisha asked Lorna, pointing to Christopher as he walked over. She grinned, and added, "So you're not worried that you're gonna be living with a dyke?"

"Yeah, it won't concern you living with someone who eats pussy better than your boyfriend?"

Lorna practically choked on her drink, and Christopher, eager to stay ahead of the joke, forced a laugh and responded, "How do you know you're better than me at oral sex?"

Unamused and already bored with the conversation, Nicky looked at Christopher and casually shot back,"Well you just called it _oral sex_ so let's stop right there."

Alex, who had joined the conversation when she noticed a banter between Nicky and Christopher, threw her head back in laughter and pulled Piper away from the conversation she was having with Sophia, so she could observe. "Pipes we _need_ to invest in a video camera. These two have reality show written all over them." She put her arms around Piper's waist and the two sat back and watched.

Piper turned her head to Alex, looking like she was about to confess something serious. Alex leaned her head in, and Piper burped, then added, "I'm really drunk, Alex."

It was all too much for Alex. Between her girlfriend's inebriation and Nicky's witty remarks to Christopher, she felt like she was in the middle of a comedy act.

"Hey, so how 'bout that tour, eh?" Nicky took Lorna's arm and led her down the hall.

/

Alex gave Piper a soft kiss on her lips, and Piper hiccuped. "I feel like… I don't even know who I _am _anymore," she confessed to Alex. "Like…who am I?"

"You're Piper," Alex told her, kissing her on the nose. "You're my woman."

Piper grinned, then leaned in to study Alex. "And who are you?"

"Oh God," Alex smacked her forehead and laughed, pouring herself another shot.

/

Lorna looked around, even though she was drunk she made sure to pay attention to details. It was much cleaner than Suzanne's, and it had a light minty smell throughout the house. "I think this is the same layout as Suzanne's," she noted, looking around. "That one's the master bedroom?"

Nicky looked at the room she was talking about. "Yup, that's my room, and this one would be yours. It's an office right now."

"An office?" Lorna was amused as she stepped into the room.

"Yeah, this is where I smoke and trip balls. That's what offices are for, right?"

Lorna laughed as she looked around. "Nicky, I love it here. I'd really like to move in, if you want me to."

"Of course I want you to," Nicky responded, stepping towards her. "It's nothing but a party when you're with me, I promise you that." She winked at Lorna.

"Well, I do like to have fun," Lorna replied, staring into Nicky's eyes.

Nicky raised her eyebrows, smirking at the small girl in front of her, knowing full well that she didn't have to do much to seduce her. Why was I mad in the first place? she thought. I'm always up for a good challenge. I'm gonna play this girl like the fucking fiddle.

Suddenly the door burst open, and Big Boo was standing in the doorway. "There you are. Taystee's lighting the blunts now, you're gonna miss it."

The two girls followed Boo down the hall, and into the living room where 3 blunts were being passed between Taystee, Black Cindy, Sophia, Poussey, Janae, and surprisingly, Sister Ingalls.

"Hey, what's the nun doing in our smoking circle?" Nicky lightly hit Sophia on the shoulder.

Sophia, whose eyes were bloodshot and heavy, turned to her right where Ingalls was waiting. "Oh _no, _Sister, it's bad enough you had two cups of that juice, you ain't gettin' none of this."

"I want it _aaalll,_" Ingalls slurred, before falling backwards onto the floor.

Nicky sighed, then took the chair she fell off of and gave it to Lorna so she could sit. "Why did you let her drink that?"

"Hey don't blame me, I didn't know what was in it. You're the one that made it-why didn't you put a sign?"

"A _sign?"_ Nicky repeated, her right eyebrow raised in bewilderment. "I was supposed to write a _sign?_ Like a 'No Nuns - Keep Out'-that kind of sign?"

Jones left the sofa where she was sitting, came over and shook her head at the passed out Ingalls. "Oh my God, how did this happen?" she asked out loud to no one, then bent over to help her stand. "I should take her back to her room."

"Aw c'mon, you gonna come back though, right?" Janae asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Oh, I think I'm done for the night, I did have fun though. Janae, I'll see you tomorrow for lunch."

"Peace out Jones."

Nicky took the blunt from Janae and took a hit, watching tiny Yoga Jones try to help drunk Sister Ingalls walk out of the apartment. "I wish they woulda stayed, she was the perfect addition to these wooden floors. I was thinking of getting a carpet, turns out all I need is a passed out nun."

Lorna looked up at Nicky and smiled, watching her puff on the blunt. When she handed it to her, she took it and passed it straight to Christopher.

"So Christopher, you livin' on your own?"

"Uh, no, actually, I'm living with my mom right now." Christopher nodded, replying to Nicky.

Nicky raised her eyebrows. This was almost too easy. "Your mom, eh? That sounds fun."

"Christopher lost his job recently, so we've had to downsize a bit," Lorna explained, putting her hand on Christopher's knee. Nicky fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Daya came over to the group, with a small built, young man standing behind her. "Hey, can I get in on some of that?" she asked. Christopher handed her the blunt, and she took a hit.

"Nicky, this is my friend John, he just moved into the building."

Jon smiled, he was very cute and charming, and shook Nicky's hand. "Hey, nice to meet you. Great place you got here."

"Thanks John. This is Lorna, she's gonna be my roommate soon, and this is her boyfriend Christopher. He lives with his mom."

John extended his hand to the both of them. "Pleasure to meet you both. And hey, I lived with my mom for a year after college. No judgement here."

"But plenty here," Nicky threw her arms up and grabbed the bottle of tequila. She put her hand on Lorna's inner leg and ran her hand up and down. "Hey, wanna take a shot of this with me? It's the real shit, you'll love it."

Although Lorna was already past blacked out, she nodded and put her hand on Nicky's. "Sounds good."

Nicky grinned and poured two shots for them. John excused himself to go to the bathroom. The door was closed, and he knocked lightly on it.

"Just a ssssec," a female voice came from the other side.

"Take your time," John told her, as he leaned against the wall and waited.

Two minutes later, Piper stumbled out, and looked up at John with her eyes in two separate directions. "Hey I know you," she slurred.

John smiled. "Uhhh, really? I don't, I don't think so-"

"Yeah, I definitely know you." She stepped closer to him. "You know Larry?"

John paused for a minute, then realized who she was talking about. "Oh, that's right! Yeah, I know Larry. You dated him back in the day, right?"

"Pshh, _way, _way back in the day," Piper responded, swaying to the side. John helped to steady her. "What's your name again?"

"John. John Bennett."

"John Bennett," she repeated, putting her arms around his neck. "I like it. John Bennett."

"Well, I'm just gonna use the bathroom real quick, so-"

"How's Larry?" she asked him, her arms still around his neck.

"Well, I haven't seen him in a while, but good, I guess. Pretty good."

In the living room, Nicky had just taken a shot with Lorna, and laughed as she saw some of it dribble from the side of her mouth. She wiped it off of her, then gently licked the tequila off her finger, never breaking eye contact with her.

In her drunken state, Lorna had to do everything she could to not tackle Nicky. This is definitely the last time I drink tequila, she thought to herself. Girls only have lesbian thoughts when they drink tequila.

Suddenly, a deep woman's voice was heard shrieking down the hall, "What the FUCK is going on?"

"No-fuck-" came another, higher-pitched female voice.

Nicky got up to see what was going on, and tripped over a chair and tumbled right onto the floor, taking several empty bottles and cups with her. Lorna burst out into giggles, trying to help her friend up but couldn't contain her laughter.

"Ay fuck you!" Nicky yelled to her, trying to get herself up. "Fuck you-"

"I'm sorry Nicky, I'm so sorry," Lorna wheezed between laughs. "It was almost so graceful." She picked Nicky up and together they stumbled into the hall, where they were quickly robbed of their glee.

Someone had shut the music off, and most of the crowd was paying attention to what was going on.

Alex, who was on the verge of tears, had pushed John up against the wall, and was now coming at Piper, who could barely stand straight. "What the FUCK Piper?!" she yelled, scarier and louder than she had ever yelled before. "What the FUCK!?"

"Whoa, alright y'all let's chill out," Poussey tried to intervene.

"Whoa, 'scuse me y'all, Cindy gotta pee," Black Cindy made her way blissfully unaware through the fight and into the bathroom.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" Nicky asked.

"Piper-Piper was _making out _with this fucking guy!" Alex screamed. She was shaking, and barely able to get her words straight. "I SAW her! I saw her making out with this guy!"

"Holy shit," was all Nicky could say to her friend. "Alex, she's fucked up, she doesn't know who that guy is anymore than she knows who she is right now. Take her home."

"Fuck that I don't want her anywhere near me." Alex gave Piper a hard shove into the wall and walked towards the door, taking a beer for the walk. "Fuck you Piper. _FUCK _you."

Nicky looked at the rest of the party, who all seemed to be looking to her, waiting for her to do something.

"The fuck you guys lookin' at me for? Turn the music back on."

The party quickly resumed, and Nicky looked down at a passed out Piper on the floor.

"Do all your parties end like this?" Lorna asked, amused.

"No. My parties end with them fucking in my bathroom. This is fucked, you should take another shot with me." She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at the petite brunette.

"Sure, but we gotta put her somewhere, don't we?"

"I don't know, she looks pretty comfy to me." She watched Piper in a seated position, passed out against the closet, with her head almost at a 90 degree angle from her neck.

"I can't believe how drunk she got," Lorna said as she put her hands underneath Piper's shoulders and tried to stand her up.

Nicky bent over and helped her. "Yeah, well, I may or may not have slipped her an ecstasy. Help me move her to the couch?"

Lorna laughed and dragged an unconscious Piper over to the couch. "'Watch-" she warned, moving the Spanish ladies out of the way. Aleida stood up, and Daya approached her.

"Ma, I think I'm gonna get going," said Daya, her tone duller and sadder than it was before.

"What the fuck is your problem Dayara?" Aleida asked her. "Why don't you stay? We ain't got work tomorrow. We only been here for like two, three hours."

Daya looked over at where John was standing uncomfortably in the hall, making small talk with Christopher about the incident that just happened. "I'm not in the mood to party. You guys stay. I'll see you upstairs." With that, she walked towards the door, leaving her mother and friends behind.

"Bye Nicky," she said sadly.

"Yeah see ya," Nicky responded, pouring another shot for her and Lorna, barely noticing her change in attitude. She brought it over to Lorna, who shook her head with a big smile.

"This has _got_ to be the last one for tonight. I don't know what you're doing to me Nicky."

"But you like it, right?" She smiled and raised the shotglass, clinking it against Lorna's. "Cheers." After they took their shots, Nicky studied Lorna's face, taking in how beautiful she was. Her features were small but prominent, and she couldn't remember any other girl that could pull off bright red lipstick like that. She could tell she was an excellent kisser. She wouldn't mind getting that pretty lipstick all over her face, if it meant she could have Lorna naked underneath her, making her scream and writhe in pleasure-

Nicky's erotic fantasy was interrupted when Christopher sat next to Lorna on the couch and gave her a kiss. She was immediately disgusted. When Christopher looked at her, she put her chin up and wore her tough face, her lips snarled and pressed tightly together. Lorna turned to look at Christopher, and her eyes lit up as she returned the kiss.

Nicky's face remained strong, but you couldn't be fooled when you looked into her big, watery, brown eyes and saw that there was something there, something more. She hated Christopher, he was sleazy and disgusting, and for some reason Lorna had fallen hard for it. Not Nicky though, she saw right through him. There was something off about him, and she wanted to prove that to Lorna. Not that she had feelings for her, or anything-but she was a nice girl who should be with a good person, not this scumbag. Poor, naive Lorna. Luckily she had Nicky now. Nicky would protect her.

She lit a cigarette and smoked in silence, while the couple cuddled on the end of the couch. Piper moved in her sleep, and crashed with a loud _THUD_ right onto the floor. Nicky got up and made her way into her office, where she had several bags of heroin that she had saved for herself. Quickly, she proceeded with her usual process-put the heroin in the spoon, light the flame beneath, put it in the syringe and bam. It had become a natural process to her throughout the years. Before she knew it, the warm blanket of euphoria was wrapped around her, and she felt no pain. Just happiness, like she was floating on a cloud. She laid down on the couch and at some point, nodded off into a dreamless slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

Hope you guys are ok with the fact that there's no real storyline-just fun, every day life & drama that I would imagine happening if these characters interacted outside of prison walls, but within the same apartment complex. Enjoy!

* * *

"Aw man, I don't even know what time I passed out."

"It had to be like 4 in the morning. Y'all smoked ya last blunt at 3:30, begged me to put on Jaws for like half an hour, then passed out. Who the fuck gets blazed and wants to watch Jaws?"

"Fuck you Cindy that's a good fuckin' movie. That's some of the dopest music I ever heard."

"Yeah whatever. I always knew that shit was fake."

Nicky opened her eyes and was slowly brought into her grainy reality, which happened to be a heated conversation about the movie _Jaws._ She rubbed her eyes and looked around, she had passed out on the couch in her office, and at some point, Cindy, Taystee, and Poussey had joined her on the floor.

She rubbed her eyes. "You really couldn't have made it six floors back to your rooms, eh?"

"Yo that jungle juice was some legit shit, props whitey," Black Cindy held out her fist, which Nicky gave a fist pump in return. "I didn't know who I _was _last night."

"Word Nichols, I was so messed up I didn't even wrap my hair before I passed out last night."

Nicky laughed in Taystee's face. "Maybe you should consider going bald like Poussey."

"Ay, fuck you," Poussey shot back, throwing a pillow in Nicky's face.

"Who else passed out here?" Nicky asked, not particularly expecting an answer. She wanted to see if Lorna had stayed, and she was a little mad at herself for not remembering the last half of the night. She wandered into the living room, where various bodies were spread out across the couch and floor-Pennsatucky, Big Boo, Maritza, Flaca. Nicky frowned. No Lorna though. And no Christopher-which meant they left together. She shook her head and kicked the wall. He probably got to fuck her last night too.

She went into the bathroom to clean, because in the past she learned that the nastiest room after a party was always the bathroom-and was pleased to see that, besides an unconscious Piper slumped over the toilet, it wasn't in the worst condition. When she got closer to Piper she saw there was vomit all over the toilet and the side of her mouth, and she shook her head in disgust.

"Hey," she called out, nudging Piper with her foot. "Hey blondie." She turned the faucet and collected cold water in her hands, and dumped it all over Piper's head.

Piper gasped and raised her head, immediately scrunching her face in pain and holding her forehead, suffering from the pain the sudden movement caused.

"Hey, good morning," Nicky yelled in her face, completely aware that it was doing nothing but damage to her pounding headache. "I'm glad you're still with us."

Piper had her eyes closed and her hand pressed against her forehead. "Nicky please," she whispered, shooing her away. "Please keep your voice down."

Nicky sat on the floor next to her, unsympathetically watching her.

"I feel like I'm dying," Piper moaned. "I literally feel like I'm dying. Nicky, I think I'm gonna die. From…alcohol poisoning, and-whatever else I took last night."

"That would've happened already. You're not dying-you're suffering. Think of this hangover as the long, strenuous journey up a mountain, in heels. You feel like shit, but you'll eventually go back to normal."

"I wanna sleep forever."

"Yeah, well you got other things to worry about. You gotta go talk to Alex."

"Oh yeah, where is Alex? Where's my phone-did she leave?"

"Yeah, she left."

"And she didn't bring me with her? That's weird." Piper managed to stand up, and gasped when she looked in the mirror and saw her disheveled appearance, which included raccoon eyes, a cut on her face, and bruises all over her arms. "Oh my _God._ Oh my God what happened to me?"

"You need to clean that toilet up," Nicky told her as she stood up and walked towards the door. "My hangover shits are gonna come in soon and I'm not sitting on your puke, ya hear? Clean it up and come out, and I'll fill you in on what I remember from last night." She grinned and before she closed the door behind her, added, "This'll be fun."

Nicky took her shirt off, which reeked of smoke and alcohol, and made her way into her room. She was startled when she saw that somebody had been sleeping in her bed. Wearing just her bra, she peered over the bed and pulled the covers off, revealing a sleeping Lorna.

Nicky smiled. So she didn't leave. She crawled into bed with her and lightly ran her fingertips up and down her back.

Lorna stirred in her sleep, moaning lightly before turning around to face Nicky with open eyes. The two girls smiled at each other.

"Good morning," Lorna greeted her.

"Good morning," Nicky greeted back. "Did you enjoy my bed?"

Lorna laughed. "I don't even remember how I got here. Were you in here with me?"

"No, I wish I was though. I passed out in the office. Where's boyfriend?"

Lorna looked around. "I have no idea, actually. He probably left in the middle of the night, he tends to do that. You didn't see him out there?" Nicky shook her head. Lorna shrugged, and sat up. "Then yeah, he left. Whatever, I mean, his mom's real protective, doesn't like him sleeping out. He's probably the one that put me in here. That's my Christopher, so considerate."

"I never would've left a sexy girl alone in a bed. He must be gay or something-you should probably leave him. And become gay in retaliation."

Lorna laughed, as the blatant truth in Nicky's joke sailed straight over her head. "Why don't you have a shirt on?"

Nicky looked down, realizing she completely forgot to put a shirt on before waking Lorna up. "Good question." She grinned at Lorna, then stood up and threw a pillow at her. "Stop looking at me with that lust in your eyes, it's making me real uncomfortable."

"Really? You don't seem like a girl who gets uncomfortable easily."

Nicky bent down to get a sweatshirt from her drawer. "Guess it's just you then. You must have some power over me."

The two were interrupted when a frantic Piper barged in and sat on the edge of the bed, bending forward so her head was between her hands. "I have texts from Alex telling me to go fuck myself, she's saying we're done. Just tell me now, and be straight with me. Don't beat around the bush, I need to know what happened last n-"

"You got fucked up and made out with some dude in front of Alex. She cursed at you, hit you, then stole one of my beers and left."

Piper looked up at Nicky in shock, her jaw on the ground and her eyes wide as saucers. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. It was a Budweiser though, so I didn't care that much-"

"Oh my _God!_ Oh my God, oh my God. Oh…poor Alex! Oh my God what do I do? How do I fix this Nicky, help me!"

"You fucked up kid. You fucked up bad. You have Alex wrapped around your dainty little fingers and you know that. If you're gonna get drunk and forget who you are and spread your legs to strangers, then you probably shouldn't be out drinking- point, blank, and period."

"What do I say?" Piper had now started to cry. "How-how do I fix this?"

"You be honest. Go up to her, tell her you know you fucked up, don't blame it on the alcohol, and if there is a God, pray that he doesn't take Alex away from you."

"She's right Piper," Lorna added. "I don't know you guys very well. But I saw the way she was lookin' at you. She's really hurt but if you handle this the right way you could gain her trust back. She's a tough lady, but she's got a lot of love for you. That love will make ya weak."

Piper nodded, her eyes casted downwards. "I am _such _an idiot," she hissed to herself, her eyes brimming with tears again. "Why did I have to do this? Everything was going so well. What is _wrong_ with me?"

"Awww, don't cry Piper! I hate to see people cry," Lorna squeaked as she wrapped Piper in an embrace. "It'll be ok. You just gotta make things right!"

Lorna and Nicky turned their heads towards the closet when they heard the buzz of a phone vibrate. "Whose phone is that?" Nicky asked, realizing she hadn't seen hers since yesterday when she called Lorna. She wasn't too much of a phone or Internet person-besides the occasional funny cat video when she was high, the screens of computers gave her a headache. It was also hard to concentrate when she was buzzed for most of her waking hours.

"Oh, that must be mine," Lorna said, climbing out of bed. She followed the buzzing until she found her phone underneath a pile of sweaters.

"Stupid…stupid…_stupid!"_ Piper was still whispering to herself. Nicky looked at her, then looked back at Lorna.

"Oh my God," Lorna exclaimed, surprised at something on her phone. She looked up at Nicky, her eyebrow arched in shock. "I have 27 missed calls."

"Twenty-seven? God, Christopher's such a pain in the ass."

"Wait a minute," Lorna mumbled, scrolling through her phone. "I don't know whose number this is. It's not saved in my phone, that's so w-" She stopped short and gasped loudly, looking up at Nicky. "Oh no, it's Suzanne!"

"Who's Suzanne?"

"Suzanne, the girl I was supposed to room with! Oh-I told her I'd call her last night with an update, I feel like an asshole, should I just go up to her room and tell her now?"

"Uh, not if you wanna come out alive," Nicky responded as if Lorna was an idiot for expecting any other answer. "That bitch is crazy. She might hit you, and I'm a little hungover so I won't be able to protect you as well as I could when I'm sober." She paused, then added, "Then again, I'd do anything for you. I'd find it in me to kick her ass."

Lorna stood up and wrapped her arms around Nicky, planting a kiss on her cheek. "You are such an angel to me! I'm glad I'm rooming with you, you're a good friend to have on my side. I'm just gonna tell it to her straight, then come running down for shelter."

Lorna exited, and Nicky threw her hands up and looked at Piper. "Can you believe that? Damn I just got _so _friend zoned. Roommate-zoned. …Room-zoned. " She sighed and ran her hand through her messy hair. "I'll work on it. Okay, Piper - up and out. No more self-pitying, you're wasting time. Get to Alex's room and pour your heart out."

Piper got up and slowly walked to the door. Before she left, she turned to Nicky with tears in her eyes. "Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Nicky sighed, knowing full well that Piper was vulnerable and she'd have to be easy with her. When faced with a question like this, her first instinct was to crack a joke, or to build a wall with dry sarcasm in hopes that she wouldn't have to show her soft side. Unfortunately, she cared for Piper, and Nicky's normal go-to routines would just bring her down more. "You're not a bad person Piper. You're a mess. But-we all are, the human race is full of damaged individuals. You fucked up like every other person does every once in a while. Choose to fix it. That's what makes someone a shitty person-if they walk away from the broken glass without cleaning it."

"And what if… that's not good enough?" Piper's voice cracked and her tears spilled down her cheeks, thinking of life without Alex.

Nicky was silent for a second. "Fix it," she told her firmly. "There's a solution, but you gotta find it. It's not gonna be handed to you, princess."

Piper sniffed, then took a deep breath. "You're right," she nodded. "You're right. I can do this. Thank you Nicky, that was… that was really helpful."

"Yeah. Well. You get one piece of Nicky wisdom each year. You're done for 2014 so don't fuck up anymore."

Piper managed to laugh, and wiped her tears. She left Nicky's apartment, stepping over the Spanish girls, and made her way to Alex's apartment, her anxiety increasing with every step.

/

_Knock knock knock._

Silence.

_**Knock knock knock.**_

Alex barely moved at the sound. She was in bed-not sleeping, she hadn't slept all night. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling above her, she wasn't even sure if she had been blinking. The skin on her face was dry from her salty tears, and her eyes were swollen and red. She couldn't get that image out of her head. Her Piper, with her arms around another body, her lips locked on lips that didn't belong to hers. Piper was drunk beyond terrifying levels-she knew that, but it wasn't an excuse. It could never be an excuse, because that image was forever burned in Alex's head. No matter how much she continued to drink that night, no matter how much she rubbed her eyes, the image remained-and she knew it would haunt her in sleep and consciousness.

_**KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**_

"What the _fuck?!_" Alex hollered, kicking her blankets angrily off of her, and stomped to the door. She had to teach this person a lesson. She had to teach them to never knock on her door more than once, not when she was this angry. "Stop knocking on my _FUCKING DOOR-"_

She opened the door so hard it slammed against the wall, and her anger reduced into regret when she saw a frightened Trisha standing in front of her, with her small stature and eyes wide like a child's, as she nervously pulled on the ends of her cornrows.

"I am _so_ sorry," Trisha stuttered, flinching when the door hit the wall.

"Trisha-"

"I'm interrupting," she put her hands up and backed away. "I'm so sorry I'll come back-"

"No. No-" Alex shook her head, gesturing for her to come in. "That was my mistake. I'm sorry. I didn't know who you were-I'm sorry. It's been a long night."

Seeing another person calmed Alex down a little. Just being in the presence another woman-one that wasn't Piper, of course, seemed to bring back normal life into Alex's apartment. For the past 12 hours, life had become staring at the ceiling and crying.

"What's up Trish?" Alex casually asked, trying to sound like everything was okay. She put on her glasses, hoping it would hide her puffy eyes.

Trisha shrugged, looking at Alex. It was obvious both women were hanging on to distress. "I really didn't mean to wake you up."

Alex let out a small laugh through her nose, shaking her head and looking down. "I was never sleeping." The image of Piper kissing John flashed through her mind again like a lightening bolt. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the anger in her heart boil down.

"I only came because Nicky told me you might be able to help me. I should've called… but I don't even think I have your number. I'm having issues with my girl. And she said… maybe you could give some good advice."

"So I was referred by Dr. Nicky for a second opinion, huh?"

Trisha shrugged. "I guess so. You can relate to me more."

Alex sat on the chair at her dining room, across from Trisha. She propped her elbow on the table and leaned her face in her hand. "Well lay it on me. I'll try my best."

"Me and Mercy have been going really good. Like-really, really good. We have rings and shit. We spend every day and night together. I even wrote her a fucking song yo. I don't do that for anyone. She makes me happy. So, everything she asks for, I wanna give to her-ya know?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well before me she's only been with one other chick. And that's 'cause…she was really rich, and bought her a lot of stuff. She didn't sound like she actually loved her. And before that girl, she was straight. Has a lot of ex-boyfriends that still try to hit her up and it drives me fucking insane yo. And now she's coming at me telling me how she wants a threesome with a guy. How she wants to fuck a dude after watching him fuck me. I've never been with a girl who was still really into guys."

Trisha looked up hopelessly at Alex, who was staring at Trisha intently and with compassion. "Well I can definitely relate," she mumbled, thinking about her troubled past with Piper. She scratched her head, trying to think of what direction to go in. "Dating a girl who's had more experience with males than females is really difficult. It's like… having two different sized legs and running in a marathon with normal people. You just feel so…" The burning image flashed through Alex's mind again. She gritted her teeth. "Inferior. So when you feel like this…" She pressed her lips together, and looked up at Trisha with rage in her eyes and spat out, "_Fuck it._"

Trisha stared back at her, surprised. "Fuck it?"

"Fuck it," she spit again. "I don't deserve it. You don't deserve it. Aren't you always living in silent fear that the opposite sex is gonna win? That a _man_ is gonna come and swoop your girl away?"

Trisha sat forward, stunned at the words coming out of Alex's mouth. "Yes," she confessed. "All the time. I think about that, _all_ the time."

"So why do we stay? The result is inevitable. I don't wanna stay and wait to get cheated on-someone's gotta leave." She looked Trisha straight in the eye and raised an eyebrow. "So ladies first."

/

_Knock knock knock._

"Who is it."

"It's Lorna! Suzanne - it's Lorna. Open up please."

There was silence at first-a very brief one, then footsteps scattering quickly to the door. A lock unlocking, a chain unchaining-then the door flew open. Suzanne stood in front of her with a toothy smile. "Baby!" She held out her arms and wrapped Lorna in a tight embrace.

"Hi Suzanne-nice to see you too," Lorna tried to squirm out of her arms.

"Where's your stuff? I missed your call last night-but I figured you was busy packing and everything. Is it in the moving truck? Is that out front? Should I come out and help? Oh you know what-let me grab my moving shoes."

As Suzanne disappeared into her room to get her "moving shoes"-whatever that was-Lorna quickly followed. "Uh-actually, um… hold on the moving shoes Suzanne, eh… we gotta talk."

"Wassup?"

"You know… I was thinking about this whole moving issue," Lorna began nervously. "I… don't know if this is gonna work."

Suzanne stared at her with wide, frightening eyes. "Why not?"

"Well-"

"Are you ditching me?"

"No!"

"You're ditching me."

"No! No, no, no, Suzanne, I would never." She looked up at the ceiling, to her side, then back to Suzanne. "I… just can't move in right away! See, um… I just found out I have a twin sister, from Italy. That's-that's where I'm from, is Italy. And uh… they're planning this huge reunion… all the way in Italy-and I'm invited! Can you believe that? Well, 'cause it's my twin sister. So I'm leaving tomorrow, and they want me to stay for like… three, four weeks, maybe even a few months. I just can't say no, you know what I mean? So, maybe when I come back… in the six or seven months they want me to stay, then if you're still up for it… I can move in then."

Lorna stopped speaking, then mentally slapped herself several times. She felt like she stepped out of her body and watched in horror as a brainless Lorna babbled on and on about nonsense, that only a brain-dead child would believe. She looked at Suzanne, whose mouth had practically dropped to the floor. _Oh no,_ she thought. _Prepare to run to Nicky's room._

"So you're trying to tell me… that you have a twin sister… who lives in Italy?"

Lorna sighed. The jig was up. "Okay, okay. I don't-"

"That… is… _PERFECT!"_

Lorna was taken aback by her reaction. "…Perfect?"

Suzanne threw her arms up. "You mean to tell me that there's _another_ girl… an _Italian_ girl that looks just like you?" She looked up to the ceiling and cheered in excitement. "I get to have two of you on each arm!"

"Yeah…yes-you can!"

"Baby, thank you for being honest with me." Suzanne stepped forward and hugged her tight. "Take as much time as you need. I'll be here waiting."

Lorna hugged her back, smacking herself hard on the forehead. "Great!"

/

As the last elevator _ding_ indicated she was on her floor, Piper walked bravely to 5A, which was on the other side of the hall. Coming towards her on the other side was Trisha, who was looking down, when she normally looked forward as she walked.

"Hi Trisha," Piper said softly, once there was less distance between them.

Trisha looked up, then became startled when she saw who it was. She was torn between stopping and talking, and continuing to walk without acknowledging her, then finally decided to awkwardly mumble, "Yeah," without slowing down her speed.

Piper was puzzled, but had a mission that was prioritized first before she could worry about anything else. Like a soldier going into battle, she walked with forced courage to her door and stuck the key in, the only sound she heard was the heavy beating of her heart. She swung the door open, revealing Alex, still in her outfit from last night, pushing a purple suitcase towards the front.

"What's this?" Piper asked, looking from the suitcase to Alex.

"Your stuff," Alex responded coldly. "I don't want you here anymore. We're done, Piper."


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you _mean_ we're done!?"

"I can't play your games anymore-"

"We're not even gonna sit and _talk_ about this?!"

"Even if we solved it today, something else would happen in the future that would make me-"

"Make you _what,_ Alex? Make you even more untrusting of me than you already are? That's what this is about, isn't it? You don't wanna let anybody in, so you look for fights and you look for trouble-"

"_I _look for fights? I _looked_, yes-down the hall, and I saw you with your lips all over that fucking boy-"

"It's not my fault, I was obliterated Alex, why couldn't you have taken care of me like a good girlfriend-"

"Why couldn't you have kept your lips to yourself like a good girlfriend-"

"I didn't know who I _was_ last night, for all I knew I probably thought he was you!"

"Yeah, or you thought he was Larry, because you just _looove_ men, don't you Piper? You're so scared to be in a relationship with a woman, so it's always good to have a man on the back burner right?"

"Oh _yeah,_ Alex, that sounds just like something I would do. Because I'm so evil and manipulative and all I wanna do is cause pain to you right?"

"Just get out Piper, I can't even have this conversation with you anymore-"

"Well I can't have this conversation with _you _anymore! I'll just stay with Nicky for now!"

"Fine, I don't give a fuck-have a nice life."

"Go fuck yourself Alex."

The door was closed between the two girls. They stood in silence on opposite sides, shaking with anger. Piper was the first to cry, tears overflowed from her eyes and she held her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the loud sobs that erupted from her lips as she wheeled her suitcase towards the elevator. Alex buried her face in her hands, sniffing once then retreating back to her bed, alone.

/

"_Trish! _Come back - please!_"_

A desperate plead was the last thing Trisha heard from the front steps of the building, as she shuffled quickly towards Red's restaurant. She was so detached from reality that she carelessly bumped into Janae, who was buying weed from a street thug, then ran across the street without apologizing.

"Yo watch where you're _fucking_ going." Janae warned, quickly picking up the bag she dropped before anyone saw. "Thanks Ray." She handed the man a twenty dollar bill and shoved the bag into her pocket.

As she walked towards the corner store to pick up some roll up, Yoga Jones walked towards her, carrying a gallon of milk and a 24-pack of water bottles.

"Oh shit, lemme help you with that," Janae said, taking the water from Jones before she could tell her it wasn't necessary. "We're still on for lunch in an hour, right?"

"Of course," Jones replied, giving her a cheery smile. She looked behind Janae, where Ray was counting his cash, then quickly walked down the street. "Your friend?"

Janae turned around, then looked back at Jones. "Yeah, a dude I went to school with. His sister ran track with me."

Jones nodded uncomfortably. She was never one to look down on someone for their indulgences-she was once a heavy alcoholic, and even after she quit, would still give in to a little pot smoking. Janae even got her to share a spliff with her once or twice. Her main concern with Janae was that her shady crowd and lifestyle could easily conflict with her impeccable athletic talent. Although it was rare, it was a possibility to get randomly drug tested, and with the way that Janae smoked, there would be no way to flush the remaining traces from her body.

"Hey Janae - it's really none of my business, but if you're gonna do stuff like smoke pot, maybe you shouldn't buy it right on the street. You know, at least do it indoors or something."

Janae smiled and raised an eyebrow. "So like, I should invite him into my apartment?"

Jones thought about this, realizing that her wording had been a bit off. "I mean, no-you shouldn't invite him in your apartment, if you don't know him that well. But, you know… I mean, this is a pretty open area - cops drive by all the time, I just don't want you… to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know what I'm saying?"

Janae had to be grateful for her friend's caring nature. "I got you. Look, I'll be fine. I know how to protect myself, I'm not an idiot. Let me help you bring this to your room, then Imma shower and get ready for lunch."

The two walked inside together, passing a crying Mercy sitting on the steps, not making eye contact with the two as she sat with her phone pressed to her ear.

/

"So let me get this straight. The morning after being caught tongue fucking a dude, you yelled at Alex for being untrusting… you _blamed_ your indiscretion on the alcohol, and then put Alex at fault for not stopping you as you cheated on her?"

Piper stood like a schoolgirl being lectured by a principal. "I didn't _say_ I went about it in the smartest way possible."

"Jesus Christ, Chapman! I should've put a blonde wig on a monkey and let him do all the talking, that would've been twice as charming and more sensitive than you."

"I'm sorry, Nicky, I let my anger get the best of me."

"Well what the fuck you apologizing to me for? No, you have to go take a cold shower and let me smack you in the face a few times, then you gotta go back up there and make it right."

"She was being ridiculous Nicky, you should've heard the things she was accusing me of."

"Yeah, no shit-it's called being fucking upset. When you break someone's heart like that, you can't be a pussy when they yell at you to get their anger out of the way. You really couldn't have stood there and taken it like a man for a few minutes? Let her blow off some steam?"

"Okay so then maybe that's my problem! I don't know how to take it like a man - because I'm a fucking _woman! _I'm a woman, Nicky! I don't know how to be in a relationship with a girl, Alex is great but there has to be dynamics, some that I understand! With Larry it was easy-he was the aggressor, he dominated me, because he was the man and I was the woman. If we got into a fight, I bitched about it until he came to me and calmed me down. I knew my role, I knew where I stood. It's so confusing being in love with a girl. I mean, what's my role? What's hers?"

"Whoa." Nicky's eyes were wide, watching Piper practically spell out her insecurities right in front of her. "Okay, this is worse than we thought. But it's all starting to make sense, so this is good."

"What are you talking about?" Piper slumped on the couch and rested her head on the armrest.

"You're not one-hundred percent comfortable being romantically involved with a woman. You love the sex, you love the danger, but at the end of the day, you need rules and regulations telling you what to do, what not do, how to act, how not to act."

Piper sat up, staring up at Nicky. "Yes-you're right! That makes so much sense, I need all of that!"

"So when you got drunk, you got super horny and your insecurities came out, but you were blacked out so your morals were gone - you saw a guy, didn't matter who the fuck he was, and you pounced on him. 'Cause men make you feel comfortable. Doesn't mean you love them more than Alex, you just grew up in a white, uptight household where it was normal when boys married girls, boys worked, girls cooked, boys got on top of girls and fucked them and came in two seconds, and they all lived happily ever after."

"Well… for the most part, yeah, I guess." Piper pressed her lips together, shaking her head. "God, I think you're right. I still haven't fully accepted that I might spend the rest of my life with a woman. I think that's really messing with me."

Nicky threw her arms up, basking in her own glory of being correct.

"So do I tell Alex?"

"I think she already knows, kid. She knew before you and that pissed you off."

"I just don't think I'm mentally stable enough to go back up there. I mean, we really got into it Nicky. You should've seen it."

Nicky nodded, then slapped Piper's knee and stood up. "Well, you'll work it out. You goin' back up there now?"

"Yeah… about that."

Nicky turned and looked down at her.

"Well, I didn't bring it in with me because I figured you'd just slam the door in my face when you saw it, but… I have a suitcase outside."

Nicky stared at her with a vacant expression, before grunting and smacking herself in the forehead.

"A week, Nicky. It would be no more than a week, I promise. I'll cook for you, I'll pay a month's rent just for staying here for a week, you'll barely notice I'm here."

Nicky stared at her. "Really? 'Cause I'm trying that now and I can still see you."

"Nicky please! I would do it for you! Me and Alex just need some space right now, I know it's hard for you to see us like this because you're our number one supporter-"

"When did I ever say that?"

"But I just need to clear my head, work on these insecurities that we now know I have, and we can slowly piece everything back together. Look-if you let me stay here, I'll cook, clean, supply the alcohol for your parties, I'll even clean the mess the morning after."

Nicky studied her face.

"Please."

"One week. That's it. Lorna's moving in soon and I can't have you fucking up my plans. It's not gonna be very romantic when I have a sobbing mess on my couch."

Piper sighed with relief. "Thank you Nicky. Thank you thank you thank you."

/

"Despierta Daya."

Daya groaned as she was pulled from her precious slumber, and opened her eyes to see her mother sitting at the side of her bed. She mustered up a small smile. Aleida spoke softly, trying to act motherly, except her chronic bitchy frown that was always plastered on her face was achieving quite the opposite result. Daya and her mother hadn't had the best relationship, and had only grown close in the last year or so. Even then, it wasn't necessarily a mother-daughter relationship, but maybe more like a distant relationship between a strict aunt and her niece. But still, the small steps were progress compared to the destructive way they used to speak to each other the first twenty-one years of Daya's life.

"Despierta Daya," Aleida repeated again. "It's one o'clock. You slept all day." She pulled the covers off of Daya, much to her dismay, and opened the blinds, allowing the sunlight to pour onto her bed. "Make your bed. It's a fuckin' mess in here."

"Mami please just let me lay in bed all day. I don't feel good."

"Callate Daya, go take a shower. You didn't even drink that much."

"I'm not talking about physically." Daya pulled the covers back over her and turned so her back was facing Aleida.

"Really? You gonna pull this shit and act like you're twelve years old? You're a grown ass lady Daya, what the fuck is the matter?" She pulled the covers off her again.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"'She don't wana talk about it.' Okay Daya. What, you think you run this house? I'm your mother, if I tell you to talk about something, guess what. You talk. So tell me what's going on, before I get Mendoza in here to kick your ass."

Daya sighed. There was no point in trying to win against Aleida. "I was mad about…what happened last night."

"Last night? In Beer Pong?"

"No. With John."

"John? Who the fuck is John?"

"Oh my God, see this is why I can't talk to you, you don't listen."

"Ohh, okay I know who John is. The boy that came with you. Shit Daya calm the fuck down, it took me a second to remember. Go on, what happened?"

"I thought he liked me. We came to that party together, and he kissed that girl Piper. I thought he liked me." Daya looked at her mother, and it was one of those rare occasions that Aleida felt sadness for another person that wasn't herself.

She sighed and awkwardly rubbed the top of her daughter's head. "It's okay Daya, it's okay. It happens to all of us, you know?"

"I guess. It just hurt me. I don't think he even noticed when I left."

"Look, you're a pretty girl Daya. It's just… well, he's a white dude, what did you expect? White boys like white girls. Look at her. She's blonde, she's skinny, he's probably not into Spanish girls. So don't get upset. Why you even like him? He's too small, you need a big guy. Let me talk to Cesar and see if he can hook you up, you'll forget about _guero_ in no time."

"Mami, no, I don't want-"

Aleida had already called Cesar, and was on her way out of the room. Daya pulled the covers back over her head, and closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

/

"Nicky? Nicky open the door please, quick."

Nicky opened the door without looking through the peephole, now familiarized with the chirping of Lorna's voice that she had grown accustomed to. As soon as the door opened, Lorna pushed past her and slammed the door behind her.

"What did I tell ya? She's pissed, isn't she? Tell me she's gonna show up to my room with a shotgun."

"Not exactly." Lorna bit her lip, trying to think how she could explain to Nicky what she had told Suzanne, without making herself seem like a complete psycho.

"So what, you _are_ moving in with her?"

"No-no! I just-" She sighed. "Promise you won't laugh at me?"

"That's what everyone says before they say something hilarious, so no."

"I kinda…I kinda told Suzanne that I was moving to Italy. For 6 months. To meet my twin sister who had just been discovered, and that when I came back the two of us would move in with her."

"...Okay. I don't need to hear anymore. Welcome to 3A."

"Yay!" Lorna squealed and hugged her. "This is gonna be so fun!"

"Yeah, this is gonna be great!" Piper leaned forward so she could be seen from the couch. Lorna, who hadn't even seen Piper there, was surprised but waved to her.

Nicky glared at her. "Oh yeah, you know what Piper, now that I'm not the only one that lives here I can't fully guarantee you a place to sleep without getting permission from my roommate." She turned to look at Lorna. "Lorna, Piper wants to bunk with us for the week, in this tiny two-bedroom apartment. What do you think about that?"

"Slumber party!" Lorna exclaimed, jumping on the couch and hugging Piper. Nicky rolled her eyes and shook her head, sitting on the coffee table in front of the two.

"Okay, so I'm gonna go back to my place and get the rest of my stuff into boxes, you think I could move by tonight?"

"Sure why not? It doesn't even need to be a moving truck, just pick up any fat guy off the road I guarantee you he drives a truck. Hey, why don't I give you a ride over there? I need to do a pick up way uptown anyway."

"You have a car?" Lorna asked, surprised.

"Uh, not exactly. Let me get you a helmet." Nicky got up and walked to her room.

"A helmet?"

Five minutes later, Lorna was standing in front of a red Harley-Davidson parked in front of the apartment. Although it shouldn't have surprised her, her hands flew to her face in disbelief. "This is yours?"

"Yup," Nicky responded, swinging her leg over and taking a seat. "She's good-lookin', eh? I haven't named her yet though. I should call her Lorna. So I can tell people, 'I rode Lorna yesterday, my legs are sore from opening them so wide."

Lorna giggled, then looked at the helmet in her hands. "You don't have a helmet!"

"I know, I don't need one. That's to protect you from my hair, shit gets pretty wild-I like to go fast." She winked at her, then beckoned her to get on. "Have you ever had an orgasm on a motorcycle?"

Lorna climbed on behind her, wrapping her arms around Nicky's small waist, keeping her hands low. "No," she replied. "I've never even been on a motorcycle."

Nicky grinned and turned her face so it was deliciously close to Lorna. "So I'm kinda poppin' your cherry here."

"Yeah, you're my first time," she whispered in her ear.

Nicky smiled and revved the engine, adding a sultry, "Well don't worry, I know what I'm doing," before taking off onto the streets.


	7. Chapter 7

Lorna's heart was racing the entire time, and not because of the speed Nicky was driving at. Her hair was flying in her face like she had warned her, but it didn't bother her at all. Actually, she had flipped the plastic screen of the helmet up, so she could take in the smell of Nicky's hair as it whipped her in the face. When they stopped at red lights, Lorna would rest the side of her face against Nicky's back, and Nicky would rest her hand on Lorna's.

"You good back there?" Nicky asked. Even when she was being caring, her voice was naturally playful, making it hard for Lorna to decipher when she was being flirty, and when she was being serious.

"Yeah, this is fun," Lorna replied, resting her chin on Nicky's shoulder. She pressed her lips against her shoulder and planted a light kiss, which Nicky barely noticed. She breathed in her sweet aroma - a nice mixture of cigarettes and laundry detergent.

"Thanks for taking me for a ride," Lorna whispered, her lips brushing against Nicky's ear.

Nicky smirked, lightly pushing her with her shoulder. "Don't do that. You're turning me on."

Twenty minutes later, Nicky had turned onto Lorna's street, and followed her directions until she stopped in front of her apartment. "So this is it, huh?" She looked up at the brick building that stood in front of her.

"Yup. Home sweet home."

"Former sweet home. Your new home is right in my arms, baby."

Lorna smiled and pulled out her keys. "Wanna come in and take a look? I have beer."

"Yeah why not. I don't gotta be at my guy's house for another hour."

The two girls walked up the stairs to Lorna's apartment. Nicky's eyes never left Lorna's small, plump ass as she walked in front of her. They walked down the hall, and Lorna unlocked her door and showed her into her apartment. It was even smaller than Nicky's, and most of her belongings had been packed into boxes. "This is it. It's not much, I know."

"Na, I like it. Small and cute, like you."

"You like Heineken?" Lorna asked, disappearing into the kitchen.

"I like anything you give to me baby." While Lorna opened the fridge and searched for beer, Nicky looked around at her decorations that still hadn't been packed away yet. A picture frame on the side table that held a shot of Christopher lifting Lorna on a stupid mountain made Nicky want to smash it. Not only was Christopher a show off, but Lorna looked so happy. Well-that was before she met Nicky. Before she would find out how a real woman could make her feel.

Lorna reappeared a few seconds later holding two beers. "Here you go. I just gotta find my bottle opener, I think I packed it away already."

"No worries," Nicky stopped her, picking up the first beer and prying the cap open with her teeth.

"Oh-Nicky no!" Lorna warned, but it was too late. She had successfully opened the beer, and was now reaching for the second one. "Oh my God Nicky that's awful for your teeth! I have a bottle opener, I would have found it!"

"Don't worry 'bout it," Nicky assured her, removing the cap from the second beer. She put it in front of Lorna. "Cheers." She clinked the beer against hers.

Lorna was still in awe, watching Nicky as she casually gulped down her beer. "Are your teeth… made of rocks or something?"

"I can do a lot of work with my mouth," she told her. "Hey-remember that."

Lorna laughed, and shook her head. "Wow, I'm in for some adventure moving in with you, huh?" She took a sip of her beer.

"Oh yeah," Nicky leaned back on the couch, putting her feet on the table. "You're gonna be doing a lot of new things when you're with me. I hope you're ready."

"Well, I think I'm up for the challenge. I've been getting really adventurous since I started dating Christopher too, y'know. Did you know I never ate clams before him? Yeah! He took me to a restaurant on our six month anniversary and insisted I tried the clams. I didn't like them very much, they were very chewy and I was completely grossed out, but it was so exciting! He took me skiing for the first time too, up in Colorado. It was so spur of the moment-one day he just turned to me and said, 'I'm gonna reserve a skiing trip for us one weekend in December.' It was _September_ when he said that, can you believe it?"

"Wow, so spontaneous," Nicky drawled, sipping her beer. "Planning a trip _three months _in advance? You need to tell him to calm the fuck down before he ends up killing someone."

Lorna laughed. "You know, you would really like him, we all have to hang out. Sober, of course."

Nicky nodded, finishing the rest of her beer. "Hey can I ask you something? What's up with your guys' relationship? You said last night was the first time you seen him in three weeks… and this morning you woke up and he was gone, and he didn't even tell you, or bother to stay with you or take him with you. Is that the type of relationship you like? You don't know what he's doing, he don't know what you're doing?"

Lorna looked down, Nicky had clearly hit a sensitive spot. "He's a very private guy," she responded quietly.

"And how long you guys been dating?"

Lorna looked up again, forcing a pretty smile. "Three years."

Nicky raised her eyebrows. "So how often have you guys seen each other over the past three years?"

Lorna shrugged. "Like I said, he's a private guy. He's not into cuddling, he's close with his family and his guy friends… we have so much fun when we're together-"

"So how often do you guys see each other?"

"Whenever he makes time for me. Which is a lot-it's not like we go three weeks without seeing each other all the time. He's just… he's busy."

"He's unemployed… and he lives with his mommy. What else could he be doing?"

"I don't know. Hey-we should do something fun tonight. To celebrate the first night of us being roomies."

Nicky nodded, not fighting Lorna about how she blatantly changed the subject. "Sure, what'd you have in mind? I could take you out for some drinks and get you wasted."

"That sounds fun! Piper can come too, since she's an honorary roomie this week. It can be girls' night."

Nicky groaned, she had completely forgotten about Piper. "Oh right, that mess. Yeah she can come too I guess. She's not drinking though-if I have to take care of any puking chick tonight I want it only to be you."

"You're too sweet. What about you? Does Nicky get drunk and fall over and puke?"

"Oh trust me, Nicky falls but I'm not a bad pucker. I'm more of a…get drunk and fight everyone, and punch them for looking at me the wrong way. I get very possessive of my girls too… so I'm warning you right now, I'm single. So you're the closest thing I have. If someone tries to talk to you I might have to knock their brains out."

"Mm, I like that," Lorna told her, scrunching her nose in approval. "Christopher never does that. I always tell him I like a guy that gets jealous. That gets angry, you know?"

"Hm, well it seems like I'm the man you've always wanted."

/

Taystee laid on the couch in her living room, reading an LSAT preparation textbook, while Poussey sat on the floor in front of her, playing video games.

"So you really think you can raise enough dough to put ya ass through college, and then through law school?" Black Cindy's skeptic voice can from the other side of the room, where she was sitting at the table rolling a blunt. When no one answered, she turned and looked at Taystee, who was too engrossed in her book to notice somebody was talking to her. "Ayo-" she yelled, tossing a plastic cup at her.

"What the fuck Cindy-I was trying to add up my score."

"How'd you do?" Poussey asked, her eyes not leaving the screen.

"I don't know man, Cindy fuckin' up my flow over here."

"If I get arrested for drug possession, you gon' argue my case?"

Taystee smacked her teeth. "Long as you stop talkin' to me while I'm trying to fuckin' study, then yeah I got yo back."

"Iight." Black Cindy went back to her blunt.

"But for real Tays-you ain't no rich whitey who just walk up to mom and pops and ask for college money. You know how much that shit costs? A lot of fucking money. That's a lot of toilets to scrub, homegirl. You gon' need to run a full out business if you want the type of money to pay for school."

Taystee looked at Poussey over her book. "Well that's the fuckin' bitch of it all. I gotta make money to pay money fo' school, so I can start working to make money for life. Like what the fuck? I know how much work it's gonna be. It's gonna be fuckin' hard, but I can't deal with this lifestyle anymore man. What the fuck is gonna be in my future? I done sold drugs, I worked at fast food joints… I'm through with all of that man. I want a salary. I'm done with this tired ass life."

"Yo, and I support you one-hunnit percent, me and Cindy got yo back always."

"Always," Cindy chimed in, finishing the blunt. She held it up, pointing a finger to it. "That's a nice ass blunt, y'all tell me one other bitch who can roll this shit as good as me."

"We always gon' be here for you girl. I'm just sayin' this 'cause I'm looking out for you. Home girl to home girl-just keepin' it one-hunnit."

Taystee smiled and nodded. "You guys are my ride or die." she gave Poussey daps and stood up and walked to the table. "Now let's smoke this shit!"

Poussey put her game on pause and joined the two at the table. Cindy ran the length of the blunt through the lighter's flame to bake it. She held it up and gave it to Taystee. "To Taystee the lawyer," she told her.

Poussey stood up on the chair and shouted loudly, "To Taystee the lawyer!"

Poussey and Black Cindy engaged in a wild dance, throwing their arms up and dipping low, shaking their asses in Taystee's face, to which she laughed and started the blunt. "Y'all are dumb as fuck."

/

Daya had finally motivated herself to get out of bed, and was taking a hot shower when someone walked in without knocking, and put the toilet seat down.

"Who is that?" Daya asked from behind the curtain, completely used to people coming in and out of the rooms at all hours.

"It's Mendoza, I gotta take a piss."

Daya continued to shower in silence.

"So wassup with you? I heard you're upset about that white boy that you came with."

"My mom told you I guess."

"Yeah she told me. And I think it's fucking pathetic. There's plenty of men out there and you choose to whine over a guy that was never even yours? You can't control people, stupid-people are always gonna do what they wanna do." There was a flush, and Daya yelped as the hot water changed quickly to freezing water.

"What the fuck Mendoza don't flush when I'm in here!"

"Yo, what the fuck did I just tell you, huh? Don't try to control people, that's how you get in trouble." She flushed again, just to be a pain in the ass, and Daya grabbed an empty bottle of shampoo and threw it at her.

"I heard Aleida got you a blind date though."

Daya paused, then peered her head out to look at Mendoza. "She did?"

"Yeah. Another white boy. Aren't you lucky?"

"I don't know if I'm ready for that-"

"Ay dios mío, ella es una tonta- Aleida - entra aquí! Come talk to your stupid daughter."

Aleida walked in, with Cesar following close behind her.

"What's the problem Daya?"

"Hey Daya," Cesar cooed to her, sleazy and inappropriate as always.

"Oh my God, everybody get out - I'm taking a shower."

"Hey, you don't own this place, don't tell me to fucking get out," Aleida shot back. "Besides, you shouldn't talk to me like that, I just did you a fucking favor."

"I heard you like white boys now," Cesar told her, his devilish grin never leaving his smug face. "I got you a white boy replacement."

"His name's Christopher. He's tall, a lot taller than that John idiot. You gonna forget all about him. You guys are going out tonight, so make sure to look pretty. Wear black-it makes you look thinner."

The three of them left the bathroom, and Mendoza accidentally hit the lights out of habit.

"Mendoza!" Daya screamed. She was fuming. "Turn the lights back on-I'm still in here!"

/

Later that night, Nicky was relaxing in her living room, and had allowed Piper to nap in her bed for the time being. Lorna had managed to get a moving truck and delivery men to help ensure a quick and speedy move-in.

When Lorna arrived, the delivery men made about ten stops back and forth. They set up the bedframe and mattress in her room, and placed the boxes there to unpack later. The whole process only took about three hours, and by that time, they were both too exhausted to begin unpacking.

"Hey, sleep in my room with me tonight, and we'll spend all day tomorrow making your room pretty together, ok?" Nicky brushed a piece of hair out of Lorna's face and behind her ear.

Lorna smiled at this sweet touch. "Yeah, sounds good. So what do we have planned for tonight?"

"Well, I got us reservations at this restaurant _L'Artusi,_" she told her, her New York accent completely destroying her attempt at an Italian one. "I figured since you're on your way to Italy and all, it would only be appropriate."

"Oh my God I forgot about that! Suzanne lives all the way on the tenth floor, but I really have to spend my time on the down low. You have to help protect me from her, Nicky."

"Hey, I told you I always would, didn't I?" Nicky gave Lorna a playful nudge. She knew that the restaurant she chose was way out of her price range, but she really wanted to impress Lorna, and wanted to make sure that everything she did always one-upped Christopher.

Lorna looked up at Nicky, admiring how pouty and full her lips were. She loved the way they were brought to the side of her mouth when she smirked. She loved the vulgar crap that spewed out from them. She imagined what they would be like, when they were leaving soft wet kisses on her chest, down her stomach, and lower between her legs where she had never let anyone kiss her before-

Lorna's erotic fantasy was interrupted when a knock came at the door. Both of them were startled, they seemed to be locked away in a mutual fantasy when they were staring into each other's eyes. Nicky opened the door, and Trisha stood holding a DVD, her eyes red and wet from crying.

"Hey," she mumbled, coming in without an invite.

"Hey…" Nicky said back, turning to watch her sit on the couch. "What's the matter with you."

"I brought The Hunger Games," Trisha said, ignoring her question as she held up the DVD. "For movie night?"

"Movie night?" Nicky repeated, her tough guy accent even more intense. "What the fuck is movie night? You say that like movie night is a thing we've done before-when have we ever had movie night?"

"Please Nicky, I could really use it."

"Well later _later_ tonight, if we're even back and sober, maybe. But we have plans that we gotta get ready for. A raincheck, eh?" Nicky walked towards the bathroom and turned the shower water on.

Lorna sat next to Trisha and put her arms around her. "What's the matter?" she cooed, the maternal instinct in her not able to ignore a hurt child.

"I broke it off with Mercy," she told her, her head in her hands. "I'm fucking miserable."

Nicky came rushing out. "What? You broke up with Mercy?"

Trisha nodded.

"Why the fuck did you do that?"

"Well… 'cause of the advice Alex gave me. We're both fed up, Nicky. We can't be on this roller coaster anymore."

"Oh my _God,_ you fucking moron. When did you talk to Alex? Last night? This morning?"

"This morning."

"Okay, Alex is in no position to give any love advice after last night. You shouldn't have listened to her - you and Alex are in totally different situations as of now."

"That's not what you said yesterday-"

"Yesterday was different! Yesterday is always different. You have to adjust accordingly, Trisha. What exactly did she say to you?"

"She told me… that the result was inevitable. We would probably get cheated on, so we should leave first."

"And… and that was it? So, what-this was like a pregnancy pact? You guys pricked your fingers and touched thumbs and promised each other you'd break it off with your girls?"

"Did I make a mistake?"

"Yes- _YES _my little moron, you made a mistake. A big one."

Trisha put her hands on the top of her cornrows and scanned the room frantically, something she did when she was nervous.

"Look, it's not _totally_ your fault. You talked to Alex at a bad time. I forgot that you were even gonna go over there to talk to her. But you can't let other people make decisions for you, okay? Everyone's story is different. Where's Mercy now?"

"She's at her sister's in the Bronx. She said she was coming back tomorrow to move her stuff out. I feel like such an ass."

"Well tomorrow when she comes back, explain to her what happened. That you fucked up, jumped at a decision because you didn't think things through, and if she's willing to take you back, you're willing to stay."

Trisha nodded, and Nicky ruffled her hair. "This isn't as catastrophic as the shit Piper and Alex are going through. You guys will be fine."

"Thanks Nicky. So… no to the movie?" She looked up with sad puppy eyes.

"Oh, look at that face," Lorna squeaked, taking Trisha's chin in her hand. She looked up at Nicky. "Ay Nicky, maybe we can postpone dinner, eh? Stay here with the girls and have a movie night? I never seen The Hunger Games. And it only seems right, you know… to spend the night in the apartment, since we're celebrating us being roomies and all."

Nicky nodded, her face remaining tough as stone to hide her disappointment. "Fine. Let me go wake Piper, let her know we got a full fuckin' house tonight."

"Wait - Piper's here?" Trisha asked, slightly alarmed. "Maybe I should go then."

"Yeah, maybe you should. And you should take Piper with you so me and Lorna can relax in peace."

"Piper's not goon be mad at you," Lorna comforted Trisha. "It shouldn't be uncomfortable-you guys are both going through things, it might be good to have each other, to talk to, you know?"

"I guess. It's just awkward. I don't know if she knows that me and Alex talked."

Nicky rolled her eyes then pounded on the door. "Ayo Chapman wake up. We're having a movie night. I'm sending you to the store to get some alcohol."

Piper walked out of the room, wiping her eyes groggily. "What's this about a movie night?" she asked through a yawn. She saw Trisha sitting on the couch. "Hey Trisha, you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Trisha told her. She held up her DVD. "Have you seen this?"

"No, I haven't actually, but I've really wanted to." She looked at Nicky, a tired smile forming on her face. "Wow, Ms. Nichols hosting a movie night, I never thought I'd see the day."

"Yeah, and maybe after we can hold hands and sing nursery rhymes-is that what you want? Now remember our deal, you supply the alcohol. I want some Jameson, a bottle of Tequila… maybe get a six-pack of beers… oh and when I said Jameson, I meant the biggest bottle they have."

Piper nodded. "Got it."

"Go to Lee's two block down and tell him you're buying for me, this sick Asian fuck loves me, he'll give you a discount."

Trisha got up and peered into Nicky's room. "Hey can I crash here tonight?"

"What do you need to crash here for? Mercy's at her sister's, you have the place to yourself."

"Exactly. I'm gonna be so lonely."

Nicky rolled her eyes and sat on the couch next to Lorna. "Well we might as well. Is there anyone else you wanna invite? Pennsatucky? Our landlord? That woman that stands outside the bodega and asks for 33 cents every day? Should I invite them all for girls' night too?"

"Why not it's a party?" Trisha laughed and put the DVD in the player. She paused the movie, waiting for Piper to get back. She sat between Lorna and Nicky, resting her head on Nicky's lap. "I'm so sad Nicky. When Piper gets back can you make me that cough syrup/tequila mix you're so good at?"

Nicky looked at Lorna, who smiled at her. Although there was only one tiny girl sitting between them, she seemed so far away from her.

"Sure."


	8. Chapter 8

Sorrrryyy this took forever. It's short but more coming soon :) xoxo

* * *

It was 8 PM, Daya stood in front of Patsi's on West 56th, waiting for her mystery date. All she knew of this guy was that he was white, tall, and muscular. There was no picture, she didn't even get to speak to him on the phone. Now that she thought about it, if Cesar set her up, it was probably a huge plan to get Daya out of the house so he and Aleida could laugh at her and fuck at the same time. She was about to leave, when she was approached by an attractive young man.

"You aren't Daya Diaz, are you?"

Daya looked at who she only assumed could be Christopher, and for once, had to hand it to Cesar for doing a good job. He smelled nice, he was clean-shaven, and dressed in a nice tuxedo. And as she stared at him, there was also something, oddly familiar about him. "Yeah, I'm Daya, hi," she reached out her hand, and Christopher took it and kissed it.

"I'm Christopher," he introduced himself, his eyes not leaving hers.

"I didn't know this place was so fancy," she said with a soft laugh. "I only wore this." She referred to her plain black dress.

"Hey you look great. You're the prettiest girl here. Let's go inside, I made reservations."

He held out his arm and Daya took it, as he led her inside. As they waited behind a couple in line, Christopher's phone rang. He looked at it, silenced it, then put it back in his pocket. "So, Daya. Tell me about yourself."

/

"Jennifer Lawrence is hot," Trisha said. "She kinda reminds me of Mercy. With her dark hair, and eyes and shit."

"Dark hair and eyes and shit," Nicky repeated, as she mixed the girls a drink. "She really is one in a million."

"Hey, make sure to make mine extra strong," Trisha sat up and reminded her. Her and Lorna had snuggled underneath a blanket on the couch, and Piper sat on the armchair next to them, holding a pillow in her lap.

"Hey Piper, thanks for all this," Nicky said, referring to all the alcohol she bought. "Really appreciate it. I'm gonna make you a thank you drink, as long as you promise to stay out of trouble."

"I promise," Piper said, putting her hands up. "I'm only gonna have one drink."

Nicky finished mixing the drinks, and put a straw in each of them and handed it out. "And while we're being completely honest, Jennifer Lawrence isn't really my type. But for the record, that chick with the bright hair and outfits - I'd hit that."

"Effie?" Piper asked, taking a cup from her.

"Is that her name? Yeah, Effie."

"What about Effie is sexy to you?" Piper asked, curious as to where Nicky's reasoning came from. She thought she had Nicky's "type" figured out, but apparently not.

"She's sad. I love sad chicks." Nicky plopped on the end of the couch, with Trisha still snuggling between the two girls. "She hides behind all this make up, we never see her take that fuckin' wig off. If Effie came up to _me _and started with this whole Capital accent rich girl bullshit, I'd tell her to fuck the fuck off-then I'd rip her wig off and throw her on the bed, and stick my fist up her pussy."

"Romantic," Piper nodded her head.

"Oh my God, imagine if Nicky started dating Effie," Trisha laughed loud and high pitched, as she gulped her drink down.

"Ay-easy," Nicky warned. "That shit will fuck you up, erright? I didn't mess around this time."

"Nicky, you don't have any blow, do you?"

"In the office. Well-it's Lorna's room now. So take it and go do it in my room."

Trisha got up and started walking down the hall. She stopped, and turned around. "You coming in?"

Nicky watched Lorna out of the corner of her eye, who looked the slightest bit uncomfortable. "Na, I'll pass. Not my thing anymore." She looked at Lorna, who smiled at her. Piper watched the two, a little puzzled. She had seen Nicky go to strange extents to get into a girl's pants, but she had never seen her sacrifice her drugs for a girl. She almost picked up her phone to tell Alex what she just saw, then remembered that she couldn't. She checked her phone anyway, to see if she had texted her, and when she saw that she had no messages, she put her phone away and took a long sip of her drink.

"So you'd really hit that, huh Nicky?" Lorna inched closer to Nicky, putting the blanket in her lap so it was covering her.

Nicky pulled the blankets up to her chin and shrugged. "Yeah why not. Not the actress that plays her though. Just Effie. Sad sexy clown."

"I thought you woulda liked dark hair girls, small girls, from New York maybe."

Nicky looked at her, a sly grin forming on her lips. "Yeah, what makes you think that?"

Lorna shrugged, her cute smile driving Nicky wild. "I dunno. Intuition."

Beneath the blankets, Nicky slid a hand up Lorna's leg, tracing circles with her finger in her inner upper thigh. Lorna's leg began trembling in reaction to this. She would never ask her out loud, but in her head she was practically screaming for Nicky to go higher up. She surreptitiously slouched down the slightest bit, so Nicky had no choice but to rest her hand between her legs. Her panties were soaked, she was only glad that she wore heavy leggings that could hide it. The pants couldn't mask, however, the growing heat between her legs that was making it uncomfortable for Lorna to sit still.

Trisha came back out, a little more jittery than before. She sniffed and took a seat on the opposite side of Lorna, allowing her to sit in the middle, much to her relief. Nicky had sat forward and grabbed her drink, so her hand was no longer present to provide Lorna pleasure.

The alcohol had taken its effect on Lorna a little sooner than she had imagined-something she assumed would be happening more now that she was living with Nicky, who was always in charge of making the drinks. She felt confident, hot, and like she could take control without any consequences. Christopher wasn't even a thought in her mind, she had called him several times and he kept ignoring her. When Nicky sat back, Lorna took the reigns this time and slid her hand up Nicky's thigh.

Nicky's eyes widened ever so slightly, Lorna noticed, but she barely missed a beat. This must be Nicky's version of getting taken by surprise. She kept her eyes glued on the television, although she was relying on her peripheral view to see if Nicky would react any differently to what she was about to do.

"My hand's cold," Lorna whispered to Nicky.

"Yeah?" Nicky took her hand and held it. "I could turn the heat up."

"That's okay. I'm just gonna keep them right here." She gave Nicky's thigh a tight squeeze, earning a grin from Nicky as she gulped her drink quick.

Was she making her nervous? Nicky always held the power in the conversation, maybe now that Lorna was drunk and confident, and Nicky was drunk and giggly, the tables could turn for her benefit. She kept her hands still for the next scene or two, and the more she sipped, the drunker she got, so she eventually slid her hand between Nicky's legs. Unfortunately for Lorna, Nicky had an excellent poker face, but she couldn't deny the heat coming from in-between her legs, hotter than the heat coming from Lorna. Dirty scenes flashed through her mind: Nicky's face between her legs, leaving sloppy kisses all over her inner thighs and wet sex as her messy mane flew around carelessly. Nicky and Lorna rolling naked in bed, both wrestling to get on top of one another. As Lorna shifted, she realized how uncomfortable it was for her to sit with wetness in her panties.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," she said, moving from Nicky.

Nicky, who had been distracted with similar thoughts, watched her go, and once the door slammed, she let out a huge "_FUUUUUUUUUCK" _and slid off the couch, laying on the floor with her legs spread in the air. "Holy _fucking shit._"

"What?" Piper and Trisha, who were both entranced in the movie and remained clueless as to what was going on, were looking at her like she was nuts.

"I just wana fuck the shit out of her!" Nicky smacked her forehead and kicked her legs. "I'm gonna fucking lose it."

"You'll get her Nic," Trisha squeezed her leg and grinned. "How could she deny you?"

"Because she has a small-dicked boyfriend who she doesn't wanna admit is probably off cheating on her right now, that's why." Nicky moaned from behind her hands. She heard a flush from the bathroom, and immediately rolled up to a seated position.

/

"Sorry I'm so out of it," Daya said with a small laugh, sipping her wine. "I had a few drinks last night at a friend's. Shit got pretty wild."

"Yeah, that can happen. I hit up a party last night too," Christopher replied. He scratched his head. "So how come a pretty girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?"

Daya shrugged. "Nothing ever really worked out I guess. There was one guy…" She trailed off, then shrugged again. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. What about you? No girlfriend?"

Christopher paused. "It doesn't matter either."

/

"Eh, I can't do these like Black Cindy," Nicky mumbled to herself as she finished rolling a blunt.

Trisha had washed out four shotglasses and placed them on the coffee table in front of the couch. "What should we take a shot of?"

Nicky looked up from her blunt, still rolling it, and pointed to the Jameson. Trisha took the bottle and poured four shots, messily spilling the liquid the entire time.

"Easy," Nicky warned. "If you're too leant to pour, give it to Piper."

Piper, who was now sitting on the couch next to Lorna, had began a heated drunk venting session about Alex, and was now in tears. "I mean, I just wanna feel taken care of. Is that so hard to ask for? I just…wanna be taken care of, I want someone to take care of me-and be like, that's it. It's complete. We're totally in this _together,_ you know?"

Lorna was looked intensely into Piper's eyes, nodding in sympathy while Piper cried. Nicky and Trisha looked at each other and smirked.

"You whiny fuck, shut up and take your happy medicine," Nicky teased, handing Piper a shot. The other shotglasses were distributed to the other girls.

"What are we cheers-ing to?" Trisha asked, her eyes low.

Everyone was silent for a minute, then Lorna spoke up. "To true love, and to doing what makes you happy." She never broke eye contact with Nicky when she spoke. "To new relationships. And the future."

The corner of Nicky's mouth shifted upwards and she raised her glass. "Amen to that." They clinked their drinks and took their shot. Trisha wiped her mouth and Piper looked down and tried to suppress a cough. Nicky and Lorna remained staring at each other, sly smiles covering dirty thoughts. From the opposite side of the room, Lorna's phone rang, but she didn't bother to answer it. She may not have even noticed it.

/

Daya stepped outside of the restaurant, where Christopher had disappeared to make a phone call after he paid the bill. When she approached him, he quickly put his phone in his pocket.

"So did you have a good time?" He flashed her a charming smile.

"Yeah, it's a really nice restaurant," Daya smiled shyly and slowly walked down the street with her date. "I hope…I get to see you again, you know? Hopefully we can chill again soon."

"Well why does the date have to end tonight?" Daya looked up at Christopher, who was smiling down at her. "I live a few blocks down from here."

Daya thought about John. There was something about him that she was hung up on, but she knew all too well that it wouldn't work. And Christopher seemed really nice. He gave her compliments, paid for dinner, he was cute…what other reason did she need?

"Yeah. That sounds fun," Daya responded, as they walked towards Christopher's house.

/

"She's out cold." Nicky and Lorna stood watching a sleeping Trisha slumped on the couch. Nicky leaned over her, slapping her face and calling her name. "Ay-_Earth to Trisha._"

No response. Nicky took her small body and rearranged it so she was laying horizontally on the couch. She covered her with a blanket and gave her a loving, but tough pat on the head.

Piper came out of the kitchen with a bag of carrots, and saw Trisha laying on the couch. "Where am I going to sleep?" she asked with wide eyes.

Nicky turned around, she had forgotten Piper was even there. Once she laid eyes on her, she sighed. "Fucking shit."

Twenty minutes later, the three girls were all laying together in Nicky's bed, with Nicky in the middle.

"This is so nice!" Lorna squealed, snuggling beneath the blankets and kicking her legs around like a child.

Nicky laid on her side, facing Lorna. Her words kept ringing in her ear, _to true love, and to doing what makes you happy._ Love was a foreign thing to Nicky, but Lorna definitely made her feel happy. That was all she could go with. Lorna's excitement faded into a sensual, gentle gaze deep into Nicky's eyes. Nicky's heart was beating a million miles a minute. She ran her fingers through the brunette's hair, and brushed a piece out of her eyes. _To doing what makes you happy._

Before thinking for another moment, she put her hand on the back of Lorna's head and pulled her close to her, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. She was normally a rough lover, but had to be gentle with Lorna, because in Nicky's eyes she was fragile like glass. She had to take extra care of her, if she wanted to keep her. Lorna returned the kiss, wrapping her arm around Nicky's waist and pulling her body closer. She wrapped her leg around Nicky, locking her in so she couldn't get away. The hunger within Nicky couldn't be contained, and their soft kiss soon turned into a battle between lips and tongues. Their breathing escalated, and Lorna had to pull herself away to catch her breath. They both stared at each other with lust in their eyes. Lorna placed her hand on Nicky's face and kissed her again, this time gently. She noticed how her tone softened when she touched her. Nicky's tough guy act was slipping, and Lorna couldn't tell if it was intentional, or if it was something she really couldn't help.

Lorna laid her head on Nicky's chest, closing her eyes as she listened to her breathe. Nicky placed her hand on Lorna's, and together they drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm never drinking AGAIN-"

Piper woke up to a pounding headache and the sounds of whimpers and violent vomiting from the bathroom. She rolled over to discover she was alone in Nicky's bed. She pulled the extra pillow from the other side, the one Nicky was using, and sprawled out starfish style, taking advantage of the fact that she wasn't nauseous for once, and tried to go back to bed. However, the undeniable pain from the young girl that she could only assume was Lorna, kept her awake. She reluctantly stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

Lorna was kneeling in front of the toilet, catching her breath after her last purging session, while Nicky sat on the edge of the bathtub watching her. She was wearing rubber gloves for some reason, and holding mouthwash.

"That bad?" Piper sat next to Lorna on the floor and rubbed her back.

"She's still getting used to the way we do things around here," Nicky responded. Piper nodded sympathetically. She had been in Lorna's position one too many times. It had nothing to do with how inexperienced a person was in their drinking; if they spent too many nights with Nicky, they understood that waking up with their face in the toilet was just part of the experience.

"I'm never drinking again," Lorna moaned, her tear stained face pressed against the toilet bowl. She took a deep breath then stood up on her knees, allowing herself to throw up again.

"That's what they all say," Nicky sympathetically told her, flushing the toilet for her. "Here. Mouthwash."

"What's with the gloves?"

"Oh, well we gotta keep things clean around here, am I right?" Nicky proudly held up her small hands in yellow rubber gloves. She felt like the perfect housewife, perched on the bathtub while her lover puked cough syrup and Jameson into the toilet early on a Thursday morning. Ah, romance.

"Aren't those the same gloves you used the last time I was puking? I don't think it's that clean if you keep using the same gloves-"

"Shut the fuck up Chapman, and go make Lorna some toast."

Piper nodded and stood up, passing a still knocked out Trisha on the couch as she walked to the kitchen. She really didn't know where things were in Nicky's kitchen, but as she looked around, she could tell that Nicky probably didn't either. Everything was scattered: there was a loaf of bread in the freezer, as well as in the microwave. Instead of one designated drawer full of silver ware, Nicky had put a bunch of plastic knives and forks in a zip-lock bag labeled "Bags," which Piper assumed had been done when she was drunk or high, and had probably forgotten what she was labeling. She opened the fridge trying to find some butter, and was not surprised when she not only found _no _butter, but spoiled milk, two lighters, a waterbottle with a sip of water left, and beer. And a bowl of perfectly good avocados. Apparently Nicky loved avocados.

"Hey Nicky, I think I'm gonna go to the corner store and get some groceries for you." She called out to her friend, reaching for her wallet. She didn't hear a response, just more crying from Lorna, and what sounded like the shutter of a camera. Poor Lorna.

She pulled her phone out of her bag as she headed towards the door, and saw that she had an unread message. She quickly unlocked her phone and brought herself to her inbox as quickly as she could, and couldn't help but be disappointed when she saw it was from Polly.

**Polly bffaeae:)***

Helloo what have you been up to? haven't seen you in forever, not a fan. Call me so I can update you on my life.

Nicky came up behind Piper, startling her and causing her to jump as she casually said, "Hey."

"You scared me," Piper said, turning around. She looked down at the wild haired woman, and although she had about four inches on her, she always felt like she was being looked down on.

"I had a message from Polly… I thought it was Alex." She sighed. "I think I'm gonna text her, just to see how she's doing. Or maybe I should go up and say hi?"

"Nicky…can you get my phone please?" Lorna pleaded from the bathroom.

"Look, go do what you gotta do. Just do me a favor and come back at some point and help me with her. I fucked up." She avoided any further eye contact with Piper as she searched the living room for Lorna's phone. It was clear that Nicky was upset about something, but it was useless for Piper to press any further because Nicky wasn't one to showcase her emotions.

"What, with Lorna?" Nicky rolled her eyes and nodded, checking under Trisha's sleeping body. "You didn't fuck up Nicky, she got drunk and now she's hungover. It happens. A lot."

"We kissed last night," she casually muttered, finally retrieving Lorna's phone from on top of the DVD player.

The look on Piper's face was almost comical, like a high school teenager discovering juicy gossip about one of the popular girls. She jumped up and down and slapped Nicky's arm, ignoring the pain from the punch she got in return from Nicky. "No you didn't!" Piper screamed in her softest whisper.

"Yeah, but don't say nothin' erright? She doesn't know. She doesn't remember anything. Says the last thing she remembered was the ending credits of the movie. All of that, and then she wakes up puking from the drink that _I_ made her. And I bet you anything right now she's gonna go call her fucking boyfriend to come hug and kiss her. I'm sick of this shit." She walked back into the bathroom, as Piper made an amazing discovery. It wasn't about sex anymore-Nicky was in love with Lorna.

/

"Espero que esto sea una buena idea."

"Será, sea paciente."

Aleida, Mendoza, Maritza, and Daya all stood in aprons and hairnets, as they waited for their first day training at Red's restaurant to begin. The three women gossiped in Spanish while Daya stood in silence, like she normally did when they spoke in the language she didn't understand. She usually felt like an outsider in situations like this, but today she didn't mind, since she was so tired from being out last night. The three other women turned and looked at her, and she heard her name in whatever they were talking about.

"So, _puta,_ tell us about your date last night," Mendoza pried, elbowing her in the ribs.

"Yeah Daya, you didn't even come home last night. Let's hear the _detalles._"

Maritza was the silent one, now that the spotlight was on Daya. She leaned on the counter with her other hand on her hip, annoyed and waiting for the attention to be brought back to her.

"It was good, I guess. I dunno." Daya looked down at her fingers and laughed like a giddy school girl.

"Jesus Christ, they fucked. Probably up the butt too."

"We didn't do it up the butt Mendoza, he didn't seem interested in that," she shot back. The three women burst into laughter and started shouting raunchy Spanish phrases, as they all either celebrated or made fun of Daya's night.

Red walked into the restaurant from the back room, and they all fell silent. She stood in front of them, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So. Now that we are all here together, I think maybe we should make some rules," She began. She took a deep breath and scanned the room, making sure to make eye contact with each girl equally as she spoke. "I have thought about what you said to me. This is not the best neighborhood to serve only Russian food. Too many…blacks, and hispanics… all they want is their fried chicken, and biscuits, and…" She gritted her teeth, and barely spat out the word, "_French fries._ So I have no choice, but to be open to change, only because I know how to run a damn good fucking restaurant. It's not my fault this restaurant was the only one I could afford the rent. But remember, I am your boss. Never forget that."

The Spanish women nodded their heads, and they all took a moment to let it sink in. Finally Red, clapped her hands together, and gave the friendliest smile she knew how to. "Let's open a fucking restaurant."

/

Alex was sitting on her bed, soft Guns n Roses playing in the background. Besides the occasional drug delivery or grocery pick up, she hadn't left the room much. She didn't have reason to. Piper was dead to her, but she needed to heal in private before she made her entrance back into the real world. It would have been nice to hang out with Nicky, the only person after Piper that she spent her time with, but since the two of them were now living together it was hard to get her to herself. Her phone buzzed, and she looked down to see a text from Piper. She had deleted her contact from her phone, but she would always have her phone number memorized.

'Hey. Can we talk?' Alex almost laughed. She deleted the message and ignored it, there was no way she was saying another word to her. Alex's downfall was that she had a good game, and if she wanted to cut communication off with Piper for the rest of her life, she would gladly do it. Anything to protect her pride.

There was a knock on her door, and Alex froze. Was it Piper? She had literally just received the message, Piper would have waited at least half an hour before showing up to her door without an invite. She got up and tiptoed to the door, looking through the peephole, and surprisingly saw Black Cindy there.

She opened the door, her hand on her hip. "Can I help you?"

"Ay whitey, you sell that tree tree right?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What, like, marijuana?"

Black Cindy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'like, marijuana.' Whatever the fuck you wana call it. Ma boy ain't comin' through, I need at least an ounce."

"Yeah. Come on in."

Black Cindy walked in and closed the door behind her, as Alex retreated to her secret stash in her closet. Cindy looked around, noticing the mess. "I guess yo cleanin' lady hasn't come through either."

Alex came out with several bags of weed. She grabbed her scale and began placing weed on top of it, making sure not to give too much or too little. "I haven't been in the mood to clean," she muttered bitterly.

Cindy nodded, understanding. "Problems with ya girl?"

"My ex-girl." Alex responded, peering at her from over her glasses. "We're not doing that anymore."

Cindy nodded again. "Y'all iight?"

"I mean I'm dealing." Alex put the weed into a bag and handed it to Cindy. "Like with everything else in life. You just gotta fuckin' deal."

Cindy pulled out her wallet, sifting through her twenty dollar bills. "I heard dat."

/

At around three o'clock, Lorna was still locked in the bathroom, and Trisha had woken up and turned on a marathon of Family Guy. Nicky sat on the couch with a spoon and an avocado, eating out of the shell like a cereal bowl. She looked up at Trisha and tried to spoon feed it to her like a baby, but Trisha was too engrossed in her show to even notice. There was a knock on the door, and Nicky looked up. Too lazy to get up from her comfortable position on the couch, she picked up the key next to her and threw it towards the entrance so it slid under the door. "Who is it?" she inquired, not realizing how poor her choice of order was.

The door was unlocked and a voice came from the hallway. "Christopher."

Nicky rolled her eyes. That was certainly the last time she threw her keys out the door without asking who was on the other side.

Upon hearing his name, Lorna ran out of the bathroom-the first time she had done so all afternoon, and threw her arms around her boyfriend. "Thank God you're here," She muttered into his chest, nuzzling her face against his shirt.

"So my poor baby drank too much, huh?" Lorna nodded and Christopher picked her up and held her like a baby, carrying her over to the couch. Trisha got up to give them the couch, and Nicky silently reminded herself to give her a smack in the head for being so polite.

"Christopher always takes care of me when I'm hungover," Lorna said to the room, snuggling against her man. Nicky remained silent and kept her eyes on the television. Each time Christopher touched her, Nicky's heart hurt, and every time Lorna opened her mouth to rave about how nice he was when he was actually around her made Nicky want to jump in front of a moving bus.

"I'm ready for that blunt," Nicky told Trisha, referring to an earlier request to smoke before dinner.

Trisha hopped off the couch and went to retrieve the already rolled blunt that Nicky had stashed in her bedroom drawer.

"I feel so much better now," Lorna smiled up at Christopher. "What did you do last night?"

He hesitated for a minute, not looking her in the eyes, and then just shrugged-a little too casually. "You know. Just hung out. At home."

Nicky, who could smell bullshit the way a shark smells blood, looked over at Christopher for the first time since he'd walked in the apartment. Lorna clearly bought his pathetic excuse, but Nicky knew players-men and women players, and they were all the same. They all had the same game, same pathetic excuses. She just couldn't believe there were still other people out there dumb enough to fall for it.

"Do anything crazy last night?" she inquired, her stone cold face not moving except for a lifted eyebrow. "We wanted you to come last night but you didn't answer. Partied with mom?"

"Well I slept early. I just watched movies and went to bed."

"We watched a movie last night too! The Hunger Games. It was really amazing."

"_You're_ really amazing," Christopher cooed to the small woman, and they both laughed and kissed and Nicky was starting to feel sick. She got up and walked into the kitchen, and grabbed one of the beers from the fridge.

Piper was still out grocery shopping, and she was hoping she would come back soon so she could talk to the idiot couple while Nicky sulked miserably in the kitchen by herself. When did she get so soft? She had a contact list full of hot women, ones that Nicky had slept with before and ones that she could easily sleep with, so if it was just sex she wanted why was she caring so much about this one girl?

/

"So when I got my results, I found out that I had actually gotten chlamydia. Can you believe that? All from an intense drunk round of truth or dare."

Black Cindy howled with laughter, nearly falling out of her seat as she coughed up smoke. After Cindy paid for her weed, she offered to roll a blunt quickly for her and Alex, and they had spent about half an hour surprisingly bonding.

"That's some of the nastiest shit I done heard," Cindy said, taking another hit and holding the smoke in her mouth as she handed it to Alex. "Fuckin' funny though. At least that shit's treatable."

"Yeah, look on the bright side I guess."

Although she had planned on taking the week off to sulk and feel sorry for herself, Alex was surprised that she was enjoying the company of someone else-and even more surprisingly, someone who she had barely spoken two words to when she passed her on the elevator. Black Cindy was one of a kind-she was funny, crazy, and rolled some of the best blunts Alex had ever seen. As she handed the blunt back to Cindy, her phone vibrated again, and she looked down to see a text from Nicky.

**nichols**

babydick is here, i wana fuckin punch him. come over tonight i can't be in the apt alone with them

**Alex**

hey you figured out how to use your phone! sorry nicky that sucks. idk if i should come over tho, with ur temporary roomie being there.

**nichols**

take one for the team vause-i need a distraction. invite some fucking ppl over i really don't care, you won't have to see or speak to her. just come over at 8

Alex put her phone down and looked up at Cindy. "Hey, you wanna go to Nicky's tonight? She's having some people over, and she told me to invite whoever I wanted."

Cindy shrugged. "Sure. I don't got shit to do."

"Tell all your friends to come, my ex is gonna be there and I wanna make sure there's plenty of people to distract me from her."

Alex took a sip of her water, her eyes cold and distant as she thought of the blonde woman who held her heart-whom she loved and adored, but hated at the same time. Why did love and hate have to walk so perfectly in hand and hand?


	10. Chapter 10

Trisha walked up to the fourth floor, knowing that Mercy was probably back by now. She had to set things right-she had rehearsed a thousand different scenarios in her head, but she knew that once she was in front of Mercy, she would probably melt and babble like an idiot. She opened the door and saw the skinny dark haired girl, silently packing her stuff into suitcases.

She was startled when she saw Trisha standing in front of her. For a minute they stood in silence, looking at each other, when Trisha walked forward and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly with no intentions of letting go. Mercy accepted the hug, squeezing her girlfriend and kissing her on the cheek.

"Thank you for coming back," she said, putting her hand on the side of Trisha's face. She gazed into her eyes and mustered up a small smile. "This all got so out of hand. Please take me back baby. Please."

"Of course I will," Trisha dumbly responded. She had been practically quoting Shakespeare in her mental rehearsals, yet when the time came for her to speak, that was all she could think of. "I didn't mean what I said. I know you're not gonna cheat on me. I just have issues with guys."

Mercy nodded, knowing that Trisha had some sort of dark past, though she never openly came out and said it.

Trisha had taken advice from practically anyone that would talk to her, but the piece of advice that she was going with was from Nicky, who had told her that being blunt and laying everything out on the table was the only way to go.

She took a deep breath. "My stepdad… he fucking raped me, Mercy. He raped me for like, three years until I finally ran away from home. He took my virginity and everything. That was the only sex I'd ever had. I didn't even think I would like having sex at all, until…you know, I met you."

Mercy held her hand tightly, giving silent support as her lover spilled her heart out to her.

"I don't think I could ever be with a guy. It's just too much yo." She looked up at Mercy with wide, watery eyes. "I really thought about trying. But just the thought…" She shook her head and blinked back tears. "Terrified me. I can't go back down that road Mercy. He fucked me up, and-"

"Don't." Mercy shook her head and silenced Trisha by kissing her. "You don't have to say anything more. I'm with you baby. I'll never ask for this ever again."

"Really?"

"Totally. I don't even want it anymore." She smiled and kissed Trisha again. "I just want you."

The two girls held each other, and kissed several times as they started unpacking Mercy's stuff out of the suitcase. While reconciliation was taking place in one apartment, there was nothing but tension in Nicky's apartment. She was in the kitchen, packing away the groceries that Piper had brought her, when Lorna came up behind her.

"Hey."

Nicky turned around to look at her, then turned back towards the cabinet where she was putting paper towels and plates away. "Hey."

"You okay? You seem a little off."

"I'm great."

"Okay-good."

There was silence between them, nothing but the sounds of cabinet doors closing, and groceries being taken out of plastic bags. Finally, Nicky turned back around to face Lorna with her hand on her hip.

"I think he's full of shit."

Lorna laughed, a little taken aback. "Who… Christopher?"

Nicky nodded. "Yeah."

"What do you mean he's full of shit?"

"I mean this entire 'relationship' you guys have, I think it's complete bullshit. Where the fuck is he when he's not with you, eh? He lives with his _mom._ He couldn't have taken two seconds of his time to text you last night saying that he was staying home? I see him on my couch with his eyes glued to that fucking iPhone, clearly he knows how to use it. I hate my phone, but I still manage to get in contact with people I need to."

"Nicky, we just have a different way of doing things-"

"No, _he_ has a different way of doing things, and you just deal with it. You're really telling me that you're okay with the fact that you go days, sometimes weeks, without seeing each other, and he never tells you where he is?"

Lorna was silent for a minute. No one had ever bluntly stated the oddness of their routines. "It would… it would be nice if he could-"

"Then fucking ask for it Lorna. I haven't even known you that long and I can already tell something's up. And as someone that cares about you, I just…" She trailed off, throwing her arms up, not knowing quite where she was going. "I just don't wanna see you get hurt."

Lorna nodded. "I appreciate that Nic. I really do."

Nicky nodded, then went back to her groceries. There was more silence between them, then Lorna spoke up again. "You just don't know him the way I do."

That was quite enough. There was nothing more pathetic than someone who knows they're wrong, but still tries to defend their point as if their argument is valid. "Okay," she said, dropping it.

"And he's gonna stay here tonight, we can all have fun and get drunk! I'm feeling so much better. How many people are coming tonight?"

Nicky walked towards her, standing closely in front of her. She looked down at Lorna, smiling softly. "Don't know. It's an open house, so we'll see."

"Hey, why don't I ask Christopher to invite his sister? Ooh, you'd love her! She's a huge partier, really pretty girl-she has amazing style and she can drink anyone under the table. I'm gonna tell Christopher to call her right now."

Lorna ran off, leaving Nicky in the kitchen alone.

/

Just a few hours after they opened, Red's shop had already been buzzing with customers. The workers were busy putting out signs and marketing the new rebrand, and it had clearly worked because it was the first time Red had seen a line going out the door.

"One order of arroz con pollo - don't forget a side of habichuelas."

She believed most of that sentence had been English, but Red still felt like a foreigner, even inside of her own kitchen. She couldn't believe how fast business was coming. Of course, she should have been happy, but when you have a pride like Red, it didn't come easy. Why couldn't the customers have been like this when she was running the restaurant?

She looked around, there were people at the counter, people at the tables, and the rest were standing around waiting to get served. Unbelievable.

"I guess we're not going to be closing at normal time," Red said, looking at her watch and realizing there was no way they could close within the hour.

"Oh yeah. I put up a sign saying that we're 24/7 now." Mendoza stacked a few boxes of rice, as she set up the next order.

"You what?"

"Just for this week," Maritza responded. "It's like our little promo. No one's actually gonna be here after midnight, but it'll get people talking about our business." Everyone was running back and forth behind the counter, except for Red who stood with her arms crossed.

"What did I tell you?" she hissed. "I am still the boss. You cannot make business decisions without my approval."

"Relax Red, like she said, it's just for the week." Red turned to look at Aleida. "And like you said, we can't close at a normal time. Look how much business we got you."

We? Red was appalled. As she looked around her restaurant that she had built from the ground up, a horrifying realization came to her. She was losing control of her business.

/

Nicky's small get together had once again turned into a banger, as her apartment was filled with loud music, conversations, and the sounds of bottles clinking and blunts being lit.

The only regular group that was missing were the spanish women-who everyone had known was now working at Red's restaurant. Nicky had wanted to go over and stop by, but she heard it was nearly impossible to get inside, so she figured she'd wait until the morning.

Nicky's alcohol stash was double this particular night, she knew she would need it. She stuck a straw in her bottle of Georgi and sipped the night away, grateful when tunnel vision started to take over. As she mixed her special punch, she looked up to see Alex walking through the door way.

"Thank God," she slurred, opening her arms to her friend. Alex hugged the small girl, and Nicky gave her a hard slap on the back to ensure she wasn't going soft. "About time you fuckin' made it. Here, made this just for you-we're both gonna need it." She handed a cup to Alex.

Alex chuckled. "Thanks, but I don't think I'm gonna stay long. I just wanted to see what was up with you."

"Eh, c'mon Alex don't let Piper ruin your good time. Look around you-there's so many fucking people here you're not even gonna notice."

"I guess. Well, one drink then."

She held her cup up and Nicky grinned. "That's what they all say!"

Alex clinked her cup to Nicky's bottle and they both took a long sip. Alex grimaced at the taste which she had never gotten used to, and wiped her mouth. "So what's going on with Christopher? Why are you mad?"

Nicky rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't wanna get into it. They've been all over each other, all fuckin' day, despite the fact that Christopher ignored her calls all day yesterday, and didn't say shit about where he was."

"That's weird. Doesn't he live with his mom?"

"EXACTLY," Nicky shouted, the volume in her voice getting louder as she drank on. "So what the fuck are you doing? I can't stand him. His sister's coming tonight apparently, so I'm excited to see if the whole family is fucked up, or if it's just him."

Almost on cue, Lorna came over to Alex and Piper. "Hi Alex!" Lorna squealed, hugging the girl who towered over her.

"Hey Lorna, how's it hangin'?"

"Christopher's sister is here. I want you guys to meet her." Lorna turned her head and beckoned someone over. Nicky looked up, and her eyes were met by one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen in her life.

Christopher's sister was tall and thin, and looked like a supermodel. She had dark black hair that curled at the ends, and went down to her lower stomach. She wore tight jeans that complimented every curve on her body, and a black halter top that complimented her huge tits. Her eyes were green, and when she came over to introduce herself, Nicky could see that her tongue was pierced.

"Hi, I'm Andrea!" Andrea stuck her hand out to Nicky, who grinned and shook her hand back.

"I'm Nicky. You're a lot hotter than your brother."

Lorna and Andrea laughed, and Andrea looked like she was blushing a little. She flashed a sexy smile and casually responded, "Thank you."

"Andrea's a nurse at the Lenox Hill Hospital."

Nicky had to fight to keep her poker face. Hot _and _a nurse? What a fucking match. And then to have the same blood as a piece of shit like Christopher…it was such a shame.

"Glad you can make it. Want a drink?"

"Always." Nicky and Andrea smiled at each other, and almost formed an imaginary barricade that kept Lorna from feeling welcome anymore. Nicky poured her a drink and gave it to Andrea.

Andrea sipped, and didn't look disgusted-but rather, nodded her head in approval. "Wow, you know how to make a drink. You know what would be fun?" She grinned as she took a shotglass and poured some tequila into it. She handed it to Nicky and winked at her. "Body shots."

Lorna's smile faded slightly, as she saw Nicky give the look to Andrea that she used to give to her. Andrea laid down on the table and Nicky put a lime in her mouth. She sprinkled some salt into a line from her mid stomach to her lower stomach, and Lorna watched as Nicky bent forward in front of her and seductively licked up the salt with her tongue. She took the shot then bent down again and ate the lime out of Andrea's mouth, their lips almost touching.

Christopher came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I knew they'd get along," he grinned. For once, Lorna kept her attention on Nicky and barely noticed that Christopher was touching her.

On the other side of the room, Alex had taken her cup and walked over to Black Cindy and Poussey. She got a fist pump from both of them-apparently she was one of them now. She watched as Taystee was in the middle of another group of black girls, and had taken part in a rap battle against Janae. As the crowd parted, Alex saw Piper standing across the room.

They made eye contact, and Piper gave a weak smile. Alex held her stare for another second, then turned back to Black Cindy.

"Excuse me-" Piper struggled to get through the drunk wild crowd, and managed to make her way over to Alex. Alex saw her approaching from the corner of her eye, but took extra precaution not to react or turn the slightest bit her way.

"Hey…Alex."

At the sound of her name, she knew she couldn't ignore her forever. She turned to her former girlfriend, a cold, estranged look on her face.

She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah?"

Piper was shocked at how cold she was being, even though she should have expected that. Alex wasn't easy to win back over, especially when you really hurt her. She had known that for a while. As she looked at Alex, it felt as if the whole room was watching her. She suddenly forgot how to form coherent sentences.

As she struggled to speak, Alex kept her face the same, which made Piper even more uncomfortable. Finally, she mumbled a nervous, "See ya…" and ran back to the corner of the room where she could hide in the dark from Alex.

Alex looked down at the ground, then began sipping again and turned back to Cindy for a new conversation starter.

/

Lorna was now seated at the table with Christopher, trying to remain attentive to him while also keeping an eye on Nicky and her new friend Andrea. She knew Nicky liked pretty girls, and Andrea was certainly a catch. But she didn't think Nicky would have the nerve to dangle her new girl toy in front of her like they were playing some sort of game. Why was she all over Andrea like she wanted to fuck her?

Alarms went off in her head as Lorna watched Andrea and Nicky stumble into her room, and close the door behind her. She quickly got up, much to Christopher's surprise, who thought they were still in the middle of the conversation.

"What?" Lorna chirped.

"I didn't… say anything," Christopher said, looking confused. "You okay?"

"Yes. One minute."

Lorna ran down the hall, then very slowly twisted the doorknob and opened it the slightest crack, just so she could get an idea of what was going on behind closed doors.

They weren't talking loud enough for Lorna to hear, but they were certainly too close for comfort. Nicky was sitting on her desk and Andrea was standing in front of her placed between her legs. Nicky had her hand on her ass, and gave it a slap and a tight squeeze. Soon, they were all over each other, kissing wildly and tearing at each other's clothing.

Andrea pulled Nicky's leggings off, and even though they didn't know she was there, Lorna blushed. She had seen Nicky without a shirt on, but had never seen her in just her underwear. She had thin, muscular legs, and wore a sexy red thong. She grinned down at Andrea, who was starting to pull the thong off.

Suddenly Big Boo, who had gotten drunk fast, stumbled down the hallway and fell against the door, knocking it open. Andrea jumped up, startled, and Nicky quickly closed her legs and peered towards the door, trying to figure out what was going on. She saw a passed out Boo and a flustered Lorna.

"Uh… um, she's really drunk Nicky-maybe we should get her back to her room?"

She looked at Nicky, who was in no rush to help Big Boo up, or to even bother pulling her pants back up.

"Na, it's cool. Just close the door, yeah?" She smirked.

Andrea winked at Lorna, which angered her even more. "Nicky. Can I talk to you in _private_ please?" Without waiting for a response, she walked out of the room. Nicky sighed and got off the desk and began to pull her pants up.

"Let me go talk to her, she must've had a fight with your brother."

"Take your time," Andrea responded, slapping her on the ass. "Mind if I get comfortable in your bed?"

Nicky winked at her, then walked off to try and find Lorna. She was waiting on the outside, sitting on the steps, and it took a few minutes to find her. She eventually stumbled out into the hallway and set next to her.

"Wassup kid?"

"What's up?" Lorna repeated. "What were you guys doing in there?"

"Uh, nothing yet, you interrupted before we got to the good part."

"Why are you trying to fuck Christopher's sister?"

Nicky laughed. "She's hot, what other reason do I need? It's been a while since I've been with a girl with a tongue ring." She winked and nudged Lorna, then stood back up. "C'mon, let's go back in."

Lorna grabbed her arm a little too roughly, and drunk Nicky with poor motor skills fell back onto the step.

"Ow!" she yelled, rubbing her butt. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Is this some sort of revenge? You don't like that I'm with Christopher so you hook up with his sister to get back at me?"

"Whoa-when did any of this become about you?" Nicky raised an eyebrow. "I don't care that you're with Christopher, you were with him since before you even met me, why would I care?"

"Oh don't do that with me Nicky, I know you've been after me since day one! So what-now you're trying to make me jealous?"

"Listen to me." Nicky got real close to her face. "I'm just trying to get some pussy. Erright? This is a party, we're having fun, I'm drunk, Christopher's sister is hot. This has nothing to do with you. You have Christopher, so why do I care?"

Lorna was fuming. "Fine! If you're gonna have sex with Andrea then I'll just have sex with Christopher." She got up.

"Fine," Nicky gruffly called out after her. "I'm surprised Christopher's dick still works after he's been cheating on you."

Lorna went back into the apartment and slammed the door, leaving Nicky on the steps. She finished the rest of her drink and left the cup on the step, then went back in. She made herself another drink, making sure to pop a Xanax before. Alex came up behind her.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna get going."

"'Kay." Nicky barely even registered what Alex was saying. She tilted her head back and drank the entire drink in one sip.

"Whoa, easy there tiger," Alex laughed, taking the empty cup from her and placing it on the table. "What's the matter with you?"

"'Fuckin' stupid." Nicky's eyes were now rolling in different directions, and she couldn't stand straight without leaning to the side. As she stood in front of Alex, she looked like an autistic child trying to do the hand jive.

"Maybe we should get you to bed?" Alex put her arms around Nicky and tried to steer her towards her bedroom.

"Fuck no," she spit back, pushing Alex's hand off her. "Party's just beginning."

She left Alex and went back down the hallway, and noticed Lorna's door was closed. Not knowing that Lorna had been doing the same exact thing with her, she cracked the door open and took a peek. She could barely focus on anything in general, but she did make out two naked bodies in bed, and watched in horror as Lorna, with her back to Nicky, straddled Christopher and rode him wildly.

It was all too much for Nicky, who had far too much drugs and alcohol in her to keep her from being stable. She kicked the door open angrily, startling the couple, then screamed something inaudible as she pushed people violently out of the way to leave the apartment. She might have even elbowed someone in the face as she escaped. Everything was spinning, a result of the party, and of what she just saw. Somehow, she made it down three flights of stairs, falling and hitting her head several times until she made it outside of the building. She missed the last step and fell to the ground, hitting her face on the stoop, too drunk to put her hands out to break the fall.

She laid like that for a few seconds, before managing to sit back up, and saw that there was blood on the floor. If she hadn't been so drunk and numb, she would have also tasted it in her mouth and felt it pouring from her nose. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it backwards. It fell from her lips several times before she finally got it right.

On the other side of the street, the business had died down, give or take a few drunk teenagers who had the munchies. Red took her apron off and set it on the hook.

"I'm taking my break," she told the women, walking out of the restaurant without another word. She walked across the street with her head down, thinking about her awful day, when she saw a figure sitting on the steps. It was dark and she could only make out a shadow, but she saw the silhouette of big hair, and the familiar unsteady rocking of her drunk daughter.

Knowing something just wasn't right, she quickened her pace until she was practically running towards her Nicky. As she got closer, she was horrified to see that her face was covered in tears and blood. She kept leaning backwards then jerking forward, trying to stabilize the momentum of her balance. She could barely even keep her neck up straight.

"Nicky…" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. She had seen Nicky look bad before, but this had to be up there with one of the worst.

Nicky opened her mouth and mumbled something Red couldn't understand, and she put her head between her knees and sobbed. The maternal instinct in her took over and she was immediately at her side, hugging and kissing her figurative daughter, not minding that she was getting blood all over the front of her shirt.

"Nicky," she hissed, this time there was more anger than sympathy. She took the cigarette that Nicky had failed to light, and threw it on the ground. She grabbed her face with both her hands and tried to make her look at her. Her pupils were dilated and both her eyes were rolling to the back of her head.

"What are you on?" she asked her sternly. "Tell me right now." She pulled her shirt sleeve down to cover her hand, and wiped the blood from Nicky's face.

"It's not fair," she whaled, sobbing into Red's shoulder. It was useless trying to get a real story out of her in this condition. She would just have to be patient and wait till the morning. For now, Nicky needed constant love.

"What happened to your face? Huh? Tell me what you did. I will take you upstairs and clean you up, but first you need to tell me what happened. Did someone hit you? Did you fall?"

Nicky was nodding throughout Red's entire speech, so she couldn't quite come to an answer.

"I….ffffeellllll…" Nicky mumbled, holding her head. "M'head hurts… Ma…" She sniffled and wiped her nose, getting blood on her fist.

"Why did this happen? Why Nicky? You were doing so good, why?"

Nicky looked at Red, her eyes bloodshot and thin, but open enough so that Red could see her pain. "I'm not in control…not in control…"

Nicky put her face in her hands and sobbed, her messy hair falling over her as if she had trained it to cover her face when she was crying. Red held her in a tight embrace, rocking her back and forth. She thought of her own day, her own struggled. She nodded as Nicky sobbed to her, and gave her a kiss on the head. "I know, my daughter. I know."


	11. Chapter 11

Lorna woke up early the next morning, not surprised to realize she was alone in her bed. After Nicky had busted in on the two, the attention of everyone at the party was on Lorna and Christopher, and the mood had basically been killed. That, and Nicky had actually kicked the door off the hinges so it hung there loosely, and neither of them had wanted to continue having sex with everyone watching outside. They got dressed and when Christopher's phone went off, Lorna was the first to see that it was a message from a woman. Looking back on it now, she couldn't remember what the woman's name was or what the message said, but it resulted in a fight between the two and Christopher stormed out.

It was a complete mess of a night. Lorna had had just enough drinks that made her act like a drunken fool, but not enough to rob her of her memory. As she laid in her bed alone, all her words and actions of last night haunted her until she went into the bathroom to throw up.

On the twelfth floor, Nicky had also been welcomed back into the world. She opened her eyes and saw that she was on the floor, but not in her room-she looked around and realized she was in Red's. _FUCK. _She had no recollection of what she did last night but if she ended up in Red's room, it couldn't have been good. She was going to kill her.

She sat up and immediately moaned, when every bone in her body throbbed with pain. Her head was pounding, she couldn't even breathe through her nose too heavily without it being sore, and she was covered in cuts, scraped, and bruises. She managed to sit up in a seated position, but it was hard because she must have fallen on her tailbone, which made it difficult for her to sit too long. While Nicky adjusted to her new slow movements that she'd have to use for the next week or so to avoid pain, Red walked into the living room.

They made eye contact, and Nicky sat where she was, her big wet eyes watching the Russian as she waited for her to react. Blinded with anger, Red stepped to the small girl hovering in front of the couch and with no hesitation, smacked her across the face.

"Jesus Red!" Nicky yelled, holding her face with one hand and holding out the other in defense.

"Do you understand how _worried _I was? Do you have _any _idea what that was like for me? To see my Nicky bloody and crying on those dirty concrete steps? After all that hard work to clean up your life?! What were you thinking?! I should smack you again, re-break that little nose of yours!"

Red was livid. Nicky put her hand to her nose and put the lightest pressure on it, which caused her eyes to tear as a reaction to the pain. That explained it. "My nose is broken?"

"Yes," Red spit at her. "Your nose is broken. You also hit your head several times, you probably have a concussion. You banged your lip as well, luckily you work at a dentist's office so they can make sure there was no further damage in your mouth. Oh-_wait!_ That's very funny Nicky. Because since your first week of work, all I've seen you do is party, and drink, and smoke, and I _never_ see you leave the building." Nicky was silent. There was no point in arguing with Red. "So what happened. You quit?"

"No, ma. I didn't quit. I really wanted to start working. …They fired me."

Red stared at her, long and intense with fire in her eyes, then sighed and looked away. She shook her head, and Nicky felt her heart sink in her chest. Silence from Red, when it was out of disappointment, was more torture than any punishment she could imagine. Nicky almost considered asking for that smack in the nose, as a substitute for the silent treatment.

"But, I'm gonna get back on my feet," Nicky assured her, slowly rising to a standing position. She ignored the pain that every step created, as she slowly creeped towards Red, and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I swear. I'm done, okay?"

Red was silent again for a moment. Finally, she spoke, her words bitter and harsh. "You should have more respect for me," she told her, pushing her hand off her shoulder. "than to lie to my face."

/

"Dame las patatas."

"Esperar su turno."

"Idiota, tengo hambre. ¡Ándale!"

The kitchen was full of Spanish speaking and bickering, but Daya sat at the breakfast table and barely paid any mind because all her attention was on the phone in her hands. She had been texting all morning, and had barely bothered to say good morning to her family. Seated at the table were Aleida, Cesar, and Mendoza, having breakfast before the girls went to the restaurant.

"Ay. Earth to Daya."

Daya was brought back to life by the annoying voice of the always smug Cesar. She looked up from her phone, and he was staring at her with that superior grin that made her want to smack him.

"What?"

"I was saying I hope you're enjoying all those dick pics your boyfriend's been sending you. Huh, Daya? Dick pics on the menu today right?"

Cesar and Aleida cackled together at his dumb joke while Daya rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. Mendoza watched her, chewing her food.

"So it's serious with this boy?"

"I don't know Mendoza. We've been on a few dates. Nothing special."

"Riiight. Nothing special. So why you been writing about him in your journal?"

"You read my journal?!" Anger flashed in Daya's eyes, although it didn't faze Mendoza. She merely looked at her with calm, narrow eyes.

"Yeah. You left it out in the open, right in your underwear drawer of course I was gonna take a peak."

"What the fuck Mendoza. You don't even live here, why were you in my room?"

"Shut up stupid. I'm happy for you. When's he gonna come over to meet the family?"

Daya shrugged, momentarily putting her phone down to eat some breakfast. "I don't know, we really only hang out at night. It takes some planning for us to finally get together, he's a busy guy."

"We're having that big promotional night this weekend," Aleida reminded her. "Invite him over. Tell him there's gonna be drinks, and dancing. I have to make sure he's good enough for my Daya."

Daya thought about this, then picked up her phone and texted Christopher. "As long as you promise not to embarrass me."

"I think you can do that yourself," Aleida nodded her head towards Daya's chest, where she had spilled syrup all over herself. Mendoza burst out laughing, as did Cesar, and they all joined in to laugh at her as Daya rolled her eyes and ignored them.

/

The sun was out, but Piper laid in Nicky's bed with the lights out and the blinds closed shut. She kept trying to go back to sleep, but the anxiety burning in her stomach prevented her from anything relaxing. She couldn't get the look on Alex's face out of her head. It wasn't that there was hatred, or anger in her eyes…that she would've been okay with. It would have showed that Alex still cared. It was the way Alex looked at her-or, _through_ her, as if she didn't care that Piper was suffering without her, as if it wasn't even a thought in her head that Piper wanted her back so bad.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the door, and the small strip of light that grew wider as the door opened more. She saw Lorna lingering in the doorway, poking her head in to see if Piper was awake. She was still in her pajamas, an over-sized shirt that Christopher probably gave her, and shorts.

"Good morning," Piper called out to her, seeing the relief on Lorna's face when she saw that Piper was awake. "How are you feeling?"

Lorna tip-toed to the edge of the bed, where she sat. "You know. I've been better."

Piper smiled. "Me too."

The two girls sat in silence for a minute, each thinking about their problems weighing heavily on their mind.

"Have you seen Nicky?" Piper asked.

Lorna shook her head. "I'm worried. She was really out of it last night." Her eyes began to water. "And…and I just said such fucked up things to her. Piper what if she never forgives me?"

Piper squeezed Lorna's hand and moved over in the bed so they could lay down together. "She'll forgive you Lorna," She assured her. "Nicky has a big heart. And she really cares about you. And when she gets drunk…she gets-um, passionate. And angry. Which is why I have this." She pointed to her face, and in the dark, Lorna struggled to focus on the huge black eye she was sporting.

Lorna gasped. "What happened?!" She was horrified, but Piper just laughed smoothly as if it happened all the time.

"I made the mistake of being the closest person to Nicky when she was in a drunken rage. She was just trying to get out of the apartment, I don't think she really knew what she was doing."

Lorna put her hand on the side of Piper's face. "Oh, your poor thing. We need to put some ice on that." She hopped up from the bed and went into the freezer. She grabbed a couple of ice cubes and wrapped them in plastic wrap, and went back into Nicky's room. She got in bed next to Piper and gently held it over her eye.

"Thanks. So, like I was saying-I could be mad, you know? But for one thing, she was drunk. And I know Nicky doesn't like that as an excuse but I don't care, she was very drunk. And like I said…she just gets so passionate. I have to admire her for it. The first time I met her I didn't think she had feelings. Like, at all. I thought she only got joy from making fun of people. But she's a really, really great person, I'm sure you're learning that about her." She looked at Lorna in the eye. "But you can't…mess with her heart. Not just you, I mean, anybody in general-when she's hurt, she'll go a little crazy. You have to watch out for that."

Lorna nodded, and swallowed. "I really, really care for Nicky. There's something about her Piper… I feel so loved, and protected, and safe. And I think about her all the time…and seeing her with Andrea last night…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I thought, it was rude, you know? I mean, no one was there to have sex or be anti-social… we were there to have fun! And she was isolating herself, and I just thought…it was disrespectful…"

Careful to choose her words, Piper asked, "Do you think…um, maybe you have like, a crush on her or something?"

Lorna's eyes widened. "What?! A crush? On…on Nicky?" She laughed nervously, her accent flourishing. "Piper-no! No. That's not where I was going with that… that's not what I meant. I should have chosen my words a little better. I meant, that Nicky is my roommate, and basically the best gal-friend I have right now. And I had my boyfriend Christopher there last night, who I _looove,_ but it's not like we were all over each other, you know? We kept it PG, we were talking with people…and then Nicky just grabbed Christopher's sister-who isn't even a lesbian, I may add-and then, they just disappear? I don't know, I just thought it was strange. That's all."

Piper nodded. Lorna was spelling out everything right in front of her, but she could tell by her reaction that she wasn't quite ready to come out with it yet. She tried a different approach. "So… maybe it was just Andrea that you didn't like to see with her. Since it was your boyfriend's sister, and that was weird?"

Lorna quickly nodded. "Yes. Yes, you're absolutely right."

"Lorna… I know things are really rocky between you and Nicky right now, and I know we haven't known each other that long to have these type of conversations, but I know you're not stupid so I'm just going to acknowledge it. Nicky likes you, a lot. And she's open with her sexuality, so I won't even sugarcoat this and say she likes you as just a friend, she actually has feelings for you. Big feelings. And, I think seeing you with Christopher last night… kind of scarred her."

She looked at Lorna, waiting for her response. Piper was surprised to see that she had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, immediately pulling back once she saw the tears. "You know what-we don't have to talk about this. Let's go get some breakfast?"

"I know she likes me," Lorna responded quietly, blinking away tears. "And maybe…I don't know. I like her too. But-I'm not a lesbian-"

"Of course," Piper assured her, knowing the lesbian label probably scared Lorna more than anything else. "Of course you're not."

"But I was furious last night seeing her with Andrea," she said with gritted teeth. "And I have Christopher, which I'm so happy for, because I love him so much… but I don't want Nicky to be with anyone! Does that make me selfish?"

Piper smiled, patting Lorna on the knee. "Yes, technically. But we all get a little selfish sometimes. If you really like Nicky though… you have to choose a side. Either you're with Christopher and Christopher only, and Nicky can go do her thing because she's single, or… you know." Lorna looked at her. "Maybe if things don't work out with Christopher, you and Nicky could always…"

Piper trailed off, and Lorna didn't finish her sentence, although she knew where was going.

The two were interrupted when the door was opened, and a tired, beat up Nicky stood in the doorway. Not knowing her bed was occupied by two other girls, she flipped the switch on and Piper and Lorna's mouth dropped open at the sight of her. She had two black eyes and a swollen nose, her lip was cut, and her clothes were dirty and bloody. She also walked with a limp, and was only wearing one shoe. Upon seeing the two, Nicky rolled her eyes and turned and walked away.

"Nicky wait!" Piper and Lorna ran after her, but she continued to walk into the kitchen away from them. She opened the fridge and struggled to bend over and grab a beer from the fridge. Normally she would have used her teeth to take the cap off, but any movement on her body caused a tremendous amount of pain, so she bashed the top of the beer on the countertop until the cap fell off, and she sipped her beer on the way back to her bedroom.

"Nicky, what happened? Are you okay?" Piper stopped her in her tracks, and Nicky nodded.

"I'm fine. I need to take a nap though. Red wants me dead, I'm in pain, and I'm just not having it. So if you'll excuse me, I'm taking back my bed."

She walked past Piper and didn't even acknowledge Lorna as she made her way back into her room. The last full thing she remembered from the night before was walking in on Lorna and Christopher, and anything after that were just tiny glimpses and flashbacks.

_Red had her arms securely around Nicky, who took one clumsy step forward and three or four to the right and backwards. She was a small girl, but the way she was walking was making Red think she would have to call for backup. Luckily, as the elevator doors opened, Miss Claudette stood impatiently waiting for the doors to open._

_"Oh, Miss Claudette," Red said, relieved. "Please give me a hand. I need to get her to her room."_

_"I'm not GOING-" Nicky wailed, jerking away from Red's grip and walking into the elevator. "I'm not gonna-I don't,w-I don't wanna see her."_

_Miss Claudette quickly put her hands up and backed away. "Red, I'm sorry, I cannot deal with this foolishness-"_

_"Just grab an arm and help me get her to my room then. It will take all but two seconds." She paused then added, "I'll give you free coffee for a week if you help me."_

_Miss Claudette stared at her, then slowly got back in the elevator. She grabbed Nicky's other arm, and with Red, helped to pull her to a standing position._

_Nicky was mumbling something incoherent, then tilted her head back and teetered backwards. They both managed to catch her, and made sure to keep her grounded. The elevator eventually got to the twelfth floor, and even though it was just a quick walk down the hallway, it took about three extra minutes to guide Nicky into Red's apartment._

_Red opened the door and Nicky stumbled in, falling onto the couch and then onto the floor where she remained. _

_"Thank you," she nodded her head at Miss Claudette. "Like I said. Free coffee for a week."_

_Miss Claudette pursed her lips, looking at Nicky on the floor. She shook her head, and looked back up at Red. "Don't worry about it." She started walking towards the door._

_Red followed her, and opened the door for her. "Why not?" she chuckled softly. "Who doesn't like a free coffee?"_

_"If you want to give me free coffee as a friend, that is fine. But do not think that you have to give me something for helping out the girl. She is like a daughter to you, no?"_

_Red nodded. "I love her like a daughter, I also get angry at her, like a daughter."_

_"I had many little girls that I trained in my cleaning service. They were the family I never got to have. I disciplined them, I taught them everything they knew, I was there only as a boss. But every once in a while, there was a girl or two that got under my skin. And I would look at her the way I imagined a mother would look at a daughter."_

_Red was surprised at the woman's kindness, although she tried to keep her gruff expression to maintain her poker face. "Well. Thank you for that Miss Claudette. I appreciate that, and in the morning when I wake her, she will be thankful too."_

_"Don't mention it. Be cruel to her in the morning, but not too cruel. There is always a reason a child acts like that. Something is eating her up inside. You take care of her." She nodded at Red and walked down the hall._

_Red watched her go. "You too."_

Nicky rubbed her head and walked into her room. She turned the TV on to a random channel and slowly eased herself into the bed. She was alone only for a few quick moments before the door creaked open. Nicky didn't bother to look up, but smelled the sweet familiar fragrance of Lorna's Bath & Body Works body spray.

"Nicky."

It hurt her to move her neck, so instead of looking at her she remained staring forward and responded, "Yeah."

Lorna took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for everything that happened last night. It got a little crazy…_I _got a little crazy, and… I'm sorry. I really am. If you want me to move out, I completely understand. I'll pack my stuff and be out before you even wake up from your nap."

Nicky was silent, then slowly turned her neck to look up at the cowering Lorna. It was almost comical to see how much more Lorna had shrunk herself down when she was intimidated.

"You really think I'd kick you out?" she asked dryly, a hint of what Lorna took to be a smile forming on her lips. "Get the fuck outa here. I wouldn't make you do that."

Lorna smiled, and Nicky gave her a small one back, and suddenly it felt like they were normal again. Lorna decided to test the waters, and jumped into bed with her. Nicky moved over so she had more room, which she took to be a good sign.

"So what happened last night when you left?"

Nicky shrugged. "Who fuckin' knows. I know I'm in deep shit with Red though, so I guess I ended up at her restaurant last night. Miss Claudette was there at some point too… I don't know man, it's been a long night. Wanna nap with me?"

"Of course!"

"Great. First do me a favor and pull something out of my closet to wear. This shit's all bloody."

Lorna eagerly hopped out of bed and found a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts for her. When she turned around, Nicky was sitting on the bed pulling her shirt off. She did it slow to avoid the pain, but Lorna couldn't help but feel like she was watching a slow motion porno. She felt a heated wetness between her legs as Nicky stripped her leggings, and sat in front of her in just a bra and a pair of panties.

Lorna gulped, moving towards her with her clothes. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." Nicky barely noticed the change in her demeanor as she struggled to put her shorts on. She had bruises and cuts all over her legs, and Lorna bent down in front of her to examine them.

"You wanna be my nurse?" Nicky grinned, and Lorna could sense that the old Nicky was coming back.

"I'm just taking a look, poor Nicky," she ran a hand over her smooth calves, and placed a kiss on a few bruises. "My mother used to kiss my injuries when I was a kid."

Nicky had now stopped trying to put her clothes on, and was now focusing on the sexy brunette between her legs, kissing her knees and inner thighs. She smiled and ran her hand threw her hair, until she remembered what happened last night. She gently moved Lorna off of her, and put a sweatshirt on.

"Thanks, feels better." She winked at Lorna and groaned as she rolled back over to her side. "Didja know my nose was broken?"

Lorna gasped, her hands flying to her face. "Broken?! Are you sure?"

"Yup. I can barely breathe through it, that's why I got two fuckin' black eyes. This shit's all swollen too."

"Nicky you gotta get to a doctor!"

"You think I have insurance? Don't be a moron. Come on, let's watch a movie."

"Hold on." Lorna ran off into the kitchen and made another ice pack for her second injured roommate. She ran back and closed the door behind her, and got into bed next to Nicky.

Nicky laid on her back and Lorna hovered over her, placing the ice pack gently on her nose.

"Careful-" Nicky warned, scared of what pain she might feel if Lorna pressed too hard.

"I know." Lorna's voice was smooth and comforting. Nicky looked up at her as she nursed her to health, and pretended for the moment, that Lorna belonged to her. She didn't want to ask about Christopher. She didn't want to bring up Andrea, wherever she ended up. She just wanted Lorna, all for herself.

Lorna was looking down at Nicky with similar thoughts. Christopher and Andrea weren't a thought in her mind. She smiled at her. "How's that feel? Better?" Nicky nodded, and Lorna laughed. She lifted the ice pack and placed a small kiss on her nose. Nicky winked at her. Without thinking, she bent down again, and this time placed a kiss on her lips.

Nicky was surprised too, and although it was just a peck on the lips, she felt her stomach cartwheeling. It was the second time that they kissed, but the first time they kissed when they were sober. That was huge.

"I'm sorry…" Lorna mumbled, fiddling with the ice pack so she didn't have to look Nicky in the eye.

"Come do that again," Nicky suggested, her husky voice sounding sexier than ever. Lorna bent down and placed another kiss on Nicky's soft lips, this time letting it linger. She knew Nicky was in pain and couldn't be rough, but she didn't even want to. She wanted to be gentle with Nicky.

Nicky let her tongue slowly trail on Lorna's lips, seeing how far she could go before they had to stop. Lorna made no desire to end the kiss, so she kept going. Her tongue slipped into her mouth, and Lorna felt a hot aching in her lower abdomen. Lorna let out an involuntary moan, and Nicky pulled away with a playful smile.

"Why'd you stop?" Lorna let the words slip out before she could put a filter on anything. She was embarrassed, and quickly sat back up. "I mean… we probably should stop, it's not good for us to-"

"Hey, motormouth," Nicky interrupted. "I wanna kiss your sexy lips, but my nose is broken. Believe it or not, broken noses hurt." She winked at Lorna. "Maybe we can postpone our fun times for when I'm healed?"

Lorna smiled.

"How's that for an incentive to cure me?" She nodded her head at the ice pack, and Lorna gently placed it back on her nose.

"I'll be the best nurse you ever had." She smiled down at Nicky, and placed one more soft kiss on her lips.

She stayed like that all day, sitting and watching over Nicky making sure that her nose was being iced. Eventually Nicky drifted off into a much needed sleep, and Lorna stayed at her side, watching her sleeping patterns and wondering what she was dreaming about. It was usually Nicky looking out for Lorna-Nicky was the tough one and Lorna relaxed on the sidelines. It was nice to switch roles for once, it was nice to feel like Nicky belonged to her, like she was a valuable treasure that she had to preserve and protect. As she watched Nicky's chest rise and fall, as she played with her curly hair and touched her soft skin, she came to the realization that Nicky _did_ belong to her, she _was_ her valuable treasure. And it had taken Lorna so long to realize that.


End file.
